What is HIPAA Compliance?
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is the golden rule when it comes to health data confidentiality. Any company that deals with Protected Health Information (PHI) must have the proper network, physical storage, and security measures in place to ensure they are in compliance with HIPAA.
HIPAA protects sensitive information on behalf of patients and healthcare employees. All entities within the healthcare sector must be in compliance including sub-entities such as sub-contractors or related businesses.
HIPAA Privacy/Security Rules
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) established the HIPAA Privacy Rule to implement national standards for the protection of health information. The Security Rule works hand in hand with the Privacy Rule to establish technical safeguards against a breach.
The Security Rule sets national standards for protecting information that is held or transferred in electronic format. For this reason, it is necessary to have data security systems in place that fit these security compliance regulations to be compliant with HIPAA.
Safeguards
There are many physical safeguards that the HHS requires including an authorized access point for physically stored data, unique user IDs, policies outlining the use of electronic media, restrictions for using and sharing electronic media, and access audits.
To ensure compliance with HIPAA, it is necessary to have a data protection strategy in place. If a company’s system is infiltrated and sensitive health information is leaked, the company is liable.
Precisely understands the importance and sensitive nature of HIPAA’s requirements. Find out what it takes to ensure compliance with HIPAA and to ensure that health information privacy is a top priority.