One of the most sensitive pieces of information that a company could own is medical data. Since there are consequences for neglect, the government enforces its protection by outlining data security principles. Many businesses could suffer crippling financial losses if they don’t follow the rules. It’s frequently impossible to change the loss of client trust in a business.

Here is a detailed guide to HIPAA compliance checklist

Who needs to be HIPAA Compliant?

HIPAA seeks to regulate the healthcare sector. Three categories of organisations are typically impacted by their compliance needs.

Covered entities

By providing medical care, carrying out other procedures, and taking payments for healthcare services, covered organisations are directly involved in the production and transmission of PHI. The full range of HIPAA rules apply to these companies.

Doctors, hospitals, clinics, psychologists, dentists, pharmacies, and health insurance providers are a few examples.

Business associates

Business associates are companies that deal with covered entities’ PHI but weren’t engaged in its production. This category includes a wide range of businesses that offer services to the healthcare sector.

Consultants, accounting companies, IT vendors, and attorneys are a few examples.

Subcontractors

Subcontractors are companies that business partners hire to assist with specialised duties. HIPAA also applies to them because it implies that they might have some access to PHI.

Examples include cloud hosting companies and shredding businesses.

HIPAA Compliance checklist

It can be a monumental task to stay HIPAA compliant while making sure that numerous company sectors are covered. We created a brief HIPAA requirements checklist to get you started.

1. Employ dependable employees

When a responsible person or a department is in charge of it, HIPAA compliance is the easiest to oversee. Dedicating a HIPAA compliance officer to supervise all areas related to compliance is a smart practise. Additionally, it creates a clear chain of accountability for your company.

2. Create a HIPAA compliance management strategy

The organisation must abide by a number of HIPAA regulations in order to maintain compliance. They involve following numerous internal guidelines and mandates for staff training. If you work in the healthcare sector, you should include HIPAA-related fields in your long-term organisational plan.

3. Continue to support PHI handling technology

A company is in charge of the PHI’s security during transmission, usage, and repose under HIPAA. To make sure that your security measures are difficult to circumvent, you must incorporate cybersecurity technologies into your setup. Plan for regular security update pushes because outdated systems give hackers a free pass.

4. Assess the current level of risk

Risk analysis is a continuous process in HIPAA compliant firms because of the regular security audits they do. Additionally, you should include all administrative and technical policies in your audits. Only routine inspections can ensure compliance.

5. Make emergency plans

Create a plan of action for when you would respond to a cyberattack. According to the Breach Notification Rule, every HIPAA-compliant business must have specific policies in place for handling unanticipated data breaches. Include topics like alerting clients and other organisations.