What Is HIPAA Compliance? [2025 Updated]
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What Does HIPPA Compliance Mean?
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is the law put forth aimed to govern and secure sensitive patient data. To achieve HIPAA compliance, firms that are held responsible for protected health information (PHI) must be associated with physical, network, Hardware base encryption Compliance and procedural security measures accordingly that will enhance this procedure further. Besides, HIPAA compliance is required of covered entities (those who provide treatment, payment, or operations in healthcare) and business associates (those who have access to patient information and assist with treatment, payment, or operations). Subcontractors and any associated business associates must likewise be in compliance accordingly. This is now easy to understand the definition of Compliance.
The HIPPA Security Rule
The HIPAA Privacy Rule, or Static Compliance or Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information, establishes worldwide national standards for the protection of all types of health information related to any individual controlled by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Besides, a set of rules has also been put forward as the Security Rule creates nationwide security, securing sensitive health information that is stored or transmitted electronically.
The Privacy Rule's protections are operationalized by the Security Rule, which addresses the technical and non-technical safeguards that covered companies must use to secure persons' electronic PHI (e-PHI). The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) of the Department of Health and Human Services is in charge of enforcing the Privacy and Security Rules through voluntary Static compliance programs and civil money penalties.
Why is There a Need for HIPPA Compliance?
HHS notes that HIPAA compliance is more requisite than ever as health care providers and other organizations dealing with PHI have shifted to computerized operations that include computerized physician order entry (CPOE) systems, electronic health records (EHR), and radiology, pharmacy, and laboratory systems. Besides, Health plans allow access to claims, care management, and self-service tools. While all of these electronic approaches improve efficiency and mobility, they also significantly raise the security threats associated with healthcare data which was the prime priority.
The HIPPA Compliance Security Rule was put in place to protect people's health information and data while also allowing covered entities to use emerging technology to improve the quality and efficiency of patient treatment. Besides, the Security Rule allows covered entities to develop policies, processes, and technology that are appropriate for their size, organizational structure, and threats to patients' and consumers' e-PHI.
Hippa Compliance, Policies, and Physical and Technical Safeguards
Organizations storing sensitive patient data must have Hardware base encryption Compliance, physical and technical safeguards as per the HHS guidelines.
Some of the physical safeguards are mentioned below:
- Policies on usage and access to workstations and electronic media are imposed to ensure the safeguard of the data.
- Restrictions for transferring, removing, discarding, and reusing electronic media were mandatorily imposed.
Similarly, HIPAA's technical safeguards necessitate access control, allowing only authorized people to access ePHI. Access control entails.
- Audit reports or tracking logs that record activities on hardware and software
- Using unique user IDS, emergency access protocols, automated log-off, and encryption and decryption
Other technical policies for HIPAA compliance encompass integrity controls and procedures were put in place to ensure that ePHI is not manipulated or destroyed under any circumstances as the personal health data of the clients could be put at risk. IT disaster recovery and offsite backup are key components for guaranteeing that electronic media faults and failures are quickly corrected and patient health information is retrieved reliably and completely as soon as the situation demands.
The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, which increases fines for health organizations that breach HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules, was passed by the US government to help assure HIPAA compliance. Because of the advancement of health technology and the greater usage, storage, and transfer of electronic health information, the HITECH Act was enacted and the result was tremendous, and hoping to see some good results in the coming future.
HIPPA Compliance During the COVID-Times
To say the world has changed as a result of the pandemic during the COVID phase is an understatement. That’s not just it but Healthcare is almost certainly going to alter the most in the next few years. It will become more difficult to maintain privacy compliance.
Lets us know the following factors that Private health information is at risk
- Telehealth Visits: The number of online visits with healthcare providers has exploded. Unless an in-person visit is absolutely essential, patients who generally make brief journeys to the clinic or office choose to stay at home and see their physician electronically. If necessary safeguards are not taken, data protection over the Internet is problematic.
- Increased Patient Count (Post-Lockdown): Now that most treatments and visits are permitted in many jurisdictions, there has been a significant rise in appointments, which has thrown things off in several ways. When combined with physical separation policies, offices are frequently short on workers when schedules are full. This condition provides the potential for HIPAA violations which can turn out to be very dangerous for all mankind.
- Multiple Care Providers: Patients frequently see a number of different doctors. Increased testing and varying result times, on the other hand, make things murky. Data is going in and out at a faster rate for primary care physicians who are receiving updates from numerous testing labs, patients, or hospitals (if dealing with potential virus cases).
Conclusion
Seeing how things are going after the covid-19 breakdown, it has become more evident that the data of the patients are to be protected and secured by which HIPAA compliance has been enacted. This proposal was put forward by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that believed that there is a big need for these data to be kept safe and secure as any sort of data leakage can lead to a bigger problem.