Healthcare organizations, including Covered Entities and Business Associates, face an array of security and regulatory challenges. Legislation including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, and the Minimum Acceptable Risk Standards for Exchanges (MARS-E), control how you handle and protect patient data. Healthcare organizations are required to assess, remediate, validate and maintain ongoing compliance activities.

Why is HIPAA important?

Some specific health information privacy requirements include:

• HIPAA requires healthcare providers/Covered Entities and Business Associates to apply the appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards that ensure the privacy of Protected Health Information (PHI);

• HITRUST requirements focus on protecting ePHI through a comprehensive approach that unifies the NIST, HIPAA & HITECH, ISO 27001, PCI DSS, FTC, and COBIT recognized standards and SOC 2 criteria;

• HITECH has tightened breach notification requirements, increased financial liability amounts and established that covered entities are liable for their business associates;

• Meaningful Use requires hospitals and eligible professionals to undergo a security risk analysis and correct any identified deficiencies discovered;

• MARS-E sets the minimum set of standards required place focused on the security of computer systems handling patient/healthcare information for healthcare exchanges.

Potential Risks
An organization's failure to meet compliance with the necessary health information privacy requirements may lead to a breach of data or regulatory fines which can total millions of dollars. However, it’s important to keep in mind the possibility of PR damage to your organization and loss of brand equity.

How THarWi Can Help

Our qualified experts understand the impact healthcare regulatory requirements have on your data collection, transmission, and handling procedures. THarWi brings years of U.S. Department of Health & Human Services sector experience to your organization.

Failure to comply with relevant requirements can have a devastating impact on your organization. Don't take chances - let our experts help! THarWi has a variety of services that you can leverage to meet your health information privacy compliance needs.