Protecting patient privacy and securing PHI (protected health information) can be a daunting task. HIPAA compliance solutions help healthcare providers and other organizations that receive, generate, store or exchange patient data mitigate the risk of privacy breaches. Vendors that specialize in HIPAA compliance offer a variety of products and services. They can include simple things like privacy screens for computers as well as sophisticated technology solutions that detect potential violations. Encryption can be used to protect stored data as well as data sent via e-mail. Auditing software can track what other entities patient data has been shared with for reporting purposes.
Recent changes to HIPAA as well as the expansion of HIPAA under the HITECH Act can make it difficult to stay current on privacy and security regulations. Under HITECH, business associates of healthcare providers are also subject to penalties for HIPAA violations, increasing potential liability for companies that don't have regulatory expertise. Consulting services to help you test and monitor your information systems to confirm they are compliant and offer advice for making them more secure. Should your organization become the victim of a data breach, mitigation services are available to provide advice and counsel.