Healthcare businesses are all too familiar with HIPAA, the regulation that aims to protect the privacy of patients. This includes information like names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and medical records.
Unfortunately, HIPAA violations are easy to make when it comes to electronic data. Data breaches may lead to access to this sensitive information, for instance.
Businesses that must follow HIPAA rules are required to use a server that is HIPAA compliant. This means looking for a few different features:
- Data encryption. Encryption masks HIPAA-related data so only authorized users with a decryption key can view the information. Encryption should cover both data stored on the server and data sent to or from the server (also called “data in motion”).
- Data backup. In case an emergency or data theft occurs, servers that are HIPAA compliant must be backed up. Don’t forget that even back-up data with personal health information should be encrypted.
- The ability to destroy data. When personal health information is no longer needed, there must be a way to get rid of it. There are guidelines from NIST that businesses must follow when destroying HIPAA related data.
- Data protection. To help keep personal health protection safe, employees should have individual login credentials/user IDs to be able to access data. Healthcare businesses should decide on levels of access to personal health information, depending on what each employee does (some will need access more than others). Additionally, these businesses must have an audit log to keep track of personal health information access. The audit log is useful if there is a data breach.
If you need additional guidance on HIPAA-compliant servers and how your local IT businesses can help, contact Futra today. We are experienced in maintaining HIPAA-compliant servers and can help handle this task for your business. Find us online at MyFutra.com, or call us at 941-254-6900.
