The Importance of HIPAA Compliance in Ensuring the Privacy and Security of PHI

If you are an entity in the human services area and have a portable application that bargains with verified PHI data, then chances are that you would need to be HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) agreeable.

Social insurance like hospitals, clinics, insurance agencies, etc., and even business firms who have created mHealth or EHealth applications rotating around PHI, fall under the ambit of HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act). All things considered, gathering data does not expect you to be consistent, but rather sharing the data expects you to be.

Requirement movement under the HIPAA Security Rule has gained traction lately. HIPAA compliance sets up a different degree of protection, data security, and rupture warning necessities for human services suppliers and other secured substances. In its initial HIPAA compliance requirement days, the Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services (OCR) for the most part centered on the HIPAA Privacy Rule, has recently imposed developing accentuation on Security Rule implementation also.

Significance of HIPAA Compliance

HIPAA privacy gives patients their rights over health data and regulates who can retrieve that data. The HIPAA Privacy Rule applies to all types of people regardless of whether the communication channel is electronic, composed, or verbal.

When your application is HIPPA-compliant, it simply means that you meet the standards set by US Health & Human Services, and the user data that you hold is also secured.

Most entities of practice management systems in healthcare IT services that collect and share patient information are concerned about HIPAA privacy rules since non-compliance can turn out to be a costly affair.

Hospitals and companies attract a heavy fine for HIPAA violations that could even run into millions of dollars – there are several cases of hospitals being levied a heavy penalty for violations of a data breach.

HIPAA security was intended to safeguard the patient and their privacy. Each social insurance organization is required to have a consistent division, so that whenever you feel there is a consistent concern or rupture of information; you can contact the office to determine your issue.

If you are thinking about mobile application development that involves PHI data, healthcare app developers working with the providers you have engaged with, need to make sure to design HIPAA-compliant apps.

HIPAA Compliance and Policy

HIPAA compliance objective was to make a lot of uniform electronic medicinal services exchange codes. Security was normally a noteworthy worry with the progressions examined in HIPAA security, and it was a testing issue, so Congress punted the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to propose controls to ensure the protection of wellbeing. HHS replied by proposing a protection control that was finalized in 2000.

If you are seeking mobile application development services already or contemplating doing so, you need to evaluate what levels of HIPAA compliance you need. This will depend on the PHI (data) you hold and the amount of the data you are sharing. If you are getting the app developed through a mobile application development company, then the app development company should be informed about HIPAA compliance right in the development stage because they have to work on privacy & security rules.

The health information of a patient should be protected and for which the Practise Management System (PMS) needs to be effective and systemized. If any organization is found violating the HIPAA privacy norms then they shall be heavily penalized and fined. Presently, there are many websites and apps that have incorporated a mechanized Practise Management System which enables them to store and retrieve data efficiently and more safely.

HIPAA Compliance and Its Journey

In the initial years of HIPAA security, many organizations were perplexed but later on, people got familiar with it. From 2003 to 2005, there were many cases registered against lab assistants who tried to misuse the data of the patients. The number of cases kept increasing till 2008, which then led to the formation of corrective measures and actions.

With the advent of advanced technology, the gates for HIPAA policy are wide open. This will put every organization under scanner and scrutiny. As per the HHS statistics, over 274 breaching incidents took place in the year 2013. The issues related to HIPAA security keep increasing every year. With people excessively resorting to social media, the privacy of patients’ data faces threat and becomes a matter of concern. Presently, more than 2 million patients’ data is affected due to organizations posting medical data on various social media platforms.

The Health and Human Services department intends to open up new channels of communication to control the crisis situation. Every business needs to understand and be prepared for the upcoming risks and issues related to HIPAA compliance. Organizations must also keep in mind their medical reputations and medical data. By now, it clearly depicts that HIPAA security has evolved by leaps and bounds in these years and as the technology grows so will the scope and field of HIPAA compliance prosper. Click here to check out the cost of developing HIPAA-compliant apps.

Conclusion

HIPAA compliance brings confidence in patients because they believe that their information will be secure. Therefore, the healthcare industry has been able to see the other side of the story; it is more than just the costs.

For any technical assistance in building HIPAA compliant apps, reach out to Biz4Solutions, a distinguished healthcare app development company, known for providing high-end software development services to the global clientele.