A Guide for Navigating HIPAA Compliance

With the healthcare landscape evolving at such a rapid pace, security is taking center stage for healthcare organizations, industry technology vendors and consumers alike. Digital transformation has helped to advance the healthcare industry, paving the way for new technology, improved efficiency and more productivity. However, there remains some concern about the security of confidential private health information that currently lives both online and in the cloud.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was created as a national standard to protect medical records and other personal health information. However, it can be overwhelming for organizations to tackle the many regulatory hurdles that HIPAA requires. As a technology vendor in the industry that is currently undergoing compliance testing to achieve HIPAA Health Information Trust Alliance (HITRUST) certification, Revation Systems has become proficient in navigating the rocky waters of HIPAA firsthand and can share some advice on mastering it.

Why Using a HIPAA-compliant Tech Vendor Matters

For an organization to be certified as HIPAA-compliant and be protected from legal liability in the event of a data breach, the organization must use compliant vendors for their technology solutions. If a technology vendor has already established HIPAA compliance independently, it offers a healthcare organization two advantages. First of all, the organization will not have to audit the vendor to ensure its compliance. Such audits of a technology vendor can be time-consuming, expensive and a barrier to entry, especially if it’s offering new products or services. Secondly, using a HIPAA-compliant tech vendor displays a healthcare organization’s commitment to digital transformation and to protecting the consumer’s private health information.

Advantages of Certification that Tech Vendors Should Consider

For technology vendors, perhaps the greatest (and most obvious) advantage that HIPAA compliance provides is that it allows the company to enter productive business arrangements much faster than non-certified competitors can. Another benefit that is frequently overlooked is that this certification can guide how a vendor develops and sells its products and services. This allows healthcare organizations to easily achieve compliance by using the vendor’s products and services rather than turning to those of a non-compliant competitor.

HITRUST, the All-encompassing Certification 

Although there are numerous types of certifications that exist and many technology vendors that claim to be HIPAA-compliant and certified, it’s important for healthcare organizations to perform due diligence to ensure that the vendor truly is certified before partnering with the company. A great way to avoid potentially working with an uncertified tech vendor partner is to choose tech vendors that are HIPAA HITRUST certified. The HITRUST certification encompasses HIPAA, as well as 24 other recognized standards and regulations, and leaves no room for doubt that a tech vendor is indeed HIPAA-compliant.

While navigating the world of HIPAA within the healthcare industry may seem intimidating, HIPAA compliance will only become more critical as the industry delves deeper into digital transformation and virtualization.

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