IT solutions powering the newest era of digital health compliance

Thoropass sat down with IT Brew to discuss IT solutions powering the newest era of digital health compliance. During the virtual event, leaders in the industry, including HITRUST expert, Jason Kor, and Jim Chou, CTO of Helix, discussed the current world of compliance and InfoSec regarding health tech and digital health solutions. Also included were tidbits on the latest in all things privacy and fraud mitigation and prevention and how IT is evolving to meet ever-growing demands.

You can watch the complete discussion here. We have also highlighted some of the key takeaways from the discussion below. 

Consequences of a cybersecurity breach

Compromises of technology are increasing and have reached the HealthTech sector. HealthTech organizations can store data on millions of people, which poses a risk. Risks are categorized into three major groups.

– Breach of confidentiality
– Breach of integrity 
– and Availability of sensitive systems and data

As a result, compliance and cybersecurity tech companies have emerged to mitigate these liabilities. 

Tools, technologies, and your team 

HIPAA and SOC 2 come to mind as a baseline for health compliance. For international considerations, there’s ISO 27001. So when it comes to compliance, there is a tablescapes aspect and how you manifest and check those boxes for security. With HIPAA and SOC 2, it’s necessary to implement them at your healthcare company to show your security standards.

There can be various certifications and attestations, but it’s about staying compliant past those. Your team needs to understand why this is important, and hiring team members with that built-in understanding that protecting data is vital. This makes it easier for your company to continue to do business ethically. Additionally, there needs to be an emphasis on the spirit of the policies and frameworks to create a security culture to further your health compliance.

Compliance provides a level of insurance for data protection

To a certain extent, having HIPAA or SOC 2 provides a level of security for your data. Getting to certain framework adherences strengthens a compliance program and is a way to set a bar. It gives a minimum bar, but beyond that bar, you want to make sure your coverage is beyond the letter of the frameworks. 

Emerging threats may appear in compliance frameworks and control lists in a few years, but you need to couple compliance pieces and infosec aspects to have a robust program in place. HITRUST is also an option to maintain a thorough compliance program. HITRUST is an information security framework with similar controls and a greater level of detail adopted for the modern information security environment. 

Risk and compliance

A complimentary pair, risk evaluation drives compliance adherence. You want to avoid risks, so compliance helps avoid those risks by setting standards. Another note is that a risk assessment can determine what kinds of checks and standards hospitals are seeking and build a compliance program to ensure you meet those standards. 

Compliance provides trust that your company is not a risk for certain standards set. You need it to build trust with partners, customers, and beyond.

AI in compliance

AI is relatively new, with little to no security measures or compliance in place for AI. Since this is the case, only time will tell where AI fits into the grand scheme of digital health tech compliance and how companies will utilize it.  

Are you thinking about getting compliant?

Look no further; Thoropass has a team of experts who can help answer your questions and enables you to reach and maintain your compliance goals with advanced technology, expert guidance, and a seamless security audit experience.