Updated : 6 September 2021
Context
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) from the US sets the standard for sensitive patient data protection. Entities (anyone providing treatment, payment, and operations in healthcare) and business associates (anyone who has access to patient information and provides support in treatment, payment, or operations) must meet HIPAA Compliance. Other entities, such as subcontractors and any other related business associates must also be complying..
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the HIPAA Privacy Rule, or Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information, establishes national standards for the protection of certain health information. Additionally, the Security Rule establishes a national set of security standards for protecting specific health information that is held or transferred in electronic form. The Security Rule operationalizes the Privacy Rule’s protections by addressing the technical and nontechnical safeguards that covered entities must put in place to secure individuals’ electronic PHI (e-PHI). Within HHS, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is responsible for enforcing the Privacy and Security Rules with voluntary compliance activities and civil money penalties.
The Need For HIPAA Compliance
HHS points out that as health care providers and other entities dealing with PHI move to computerized operations, including computerized physician order entry (CPOE) systems, electronic health records (EHR), and radiology, pharmacy, and laboratory systems, HIPAA compliance is more important than ever. Similarly, health plans provide access to claims as well as care management and self-service applications. While all these electronic methods provide increased efficiency and mobility, they also drastically increase the security risks facing healthcare data.
The Security Rule is in place to protect the privacy of individuals’ health information, while at the same time allowing covered entities to adopt new technologies to improve the quality and efficiency of patient care. The Security Rule, by design, is flexible enough to allow a covered entity to implement policies, procedures, and technologies that are suited to the entity’s size, organizational structure, and risks to patients’ and consumers’ e-PHI.
Safeguards Provided By HealiaDigital Inc For HIPAA Compliance
The HIPAA provisions require physical and technical safeguards by HealiaDigital Inc whilst hosting sensitive patient data. All data on Healia are hosted on the cloud and are housed in data relevant centers that are HIPAA compliant. More information can be obtained from hello@healiadigital.com
