In today’s digitalized world, the protection of key information and sensitive personal records is one of the most important things that need to be focused upon by any firm. There have been many instances of privacy invasion and security breaches that have occurred in the last decade. Even though the advancement in technology has brought with itself a great opportunity to learn and earn online, the issue of a security breach, as well as information leakage, still exists. In fact, it can be said that with the operations moving online, this has become a graver and a more serious problem as hackers sitting in all corners of the world can gain access to it and alter it according to their own will. This, however, can be avoided by firms, if they resort to HIPAA Compliance. Nowadays you can get help from companies like Providertech to make your business HIPAA compliant.
What is HIPAA Compliance?
HIPAA is an acronym that stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and serves the issue of health information protection and limits the access of personal patient’s health records to only a few people according to the situation at hand. In order to explain this in simpler terms, let us take an example of an online platform that connects certified psychotherapists and patients seeking mental health therapy online. In order to become more secure and trustworthy, the platform must have some sort of certification that certifies that the platform is safe to use and there shall be no incidents of information leakage. If the platform is registered and is HIPAA compliant, it can be rest assured that the private information of the patients will only be accessed by the therapist treating the patient and in some cases, will not even be accessible by the platform or the online firm itself. This adds to the authenticity of the online platform and greatly increases the trust between the patient, the company as well as the therapist treating the patient.
What is the best certification?
There are a few certifications out there that serve the purpose of certifying the firm of being HIPAA compliant but not all certifications are as reputable or as good as the others. Even though HHS or the Department of Health and Human Services is the body that decides upon a firm being HIPAA compliant or not, it is always a good idea to get your firm’s security policies assessed and reviewed by third-party auditors. These third-party auditors can thoroughly check the firm’s policies and offer them to get updated if required. If the third party gives a go ahead and ensures that the firm is ready to be HIPAA compliant, the firm can apply for compliance. However, whatever the third parties might suggest and approve of, the final decision always lies in the hands of the management of the HHS since they give the final certification. Sometimes a technical or non-technical problem can be identified by the HHS even after the third parties have cleared the firm, so there is no set guarantee.