What is HIPAA compliance is one of the topics we are asked the most. Therefore, it’s crucial to clarify Hipaa compliance.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, is a set of rules that specify how protected health information may be used and disclosed legally (PHI).
The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) both enforce HIPAA compliance laws (OCR).
The OCR’s responsibility in preserving medical HIPAA compliance takes the form of routine advice on brand-new health care-related issues and in looking into common HIPAA infractions.
HIPAA compliance is a living culture that health care companies must adopt into their operations in order to safeguard the privacy, security, and integrity of protected health information.
It is achieved through a set of interlocking regulatory rules. With the help of Compliancy Group’s software solutions and HIPAA compliance training, find out more about how to become HIPAA compliant.
Who needs to be HIPAA compliant?
There are two categories of enterprises that must adhere to HIPAA regulations.
Covered Entities: According to HIPAA regulations, a covered entity is any company that acquires, produces, or transmits PHI electronically. Health care providers, clearinghouses, and insurance companies are examples of healthcare organisations that fall under the definition of covered entities.
Business Associates: According to HIPAA regulations, a business associate is any company that comes into contact with PHI while working for a covered entity under a contract. Because there are so many different service providers that can handle, transmit, or process PHI, there are a tonne of examples of business associates.
Billing companies, practise management companies, third-party consultants, EHR platforms, MSPs, IT providers, faxing companies, shredding companies, physical storage providers, cloud storage providers, email hosting services, attorneys, accountants, and many more are typical examples of business associates impacted by HIPAA rules.
What is HIPAA compliance?
The security and privacy requirements necessary to safeguard sensitive patient health information are outlined in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
The Act specifically covers guidelines for handling protected health information (PHI) and electronic PHI (ePHI). The HIPAA regulations must be followed by every business engaged in the healthcare sector in the United States. This includes coworkers like cloud service providers that handle ePHI for healthcare organisations.