Companies across the healthcare ecosystem trust Thoropass

Achieving HIPAA compliance with Thoropass

STEP 1
Kick-off

After a technical deep dive, our experts customize your HIPAA compliance roadmap to achieve maximum security of healthcare data and patient information.

STEP 2
Onboarding

Get up and running in minutes with native integrations, policy templates, and clear action items.

STEP 3
Implementation

Breeze through your HIPAA compliance journey with guided workflows, risk analysis, document management, and employee training tracking—with support from our experts every step of the way.

STEP 4
HIPAA assessment

As a third party, Thoropass delivers a trusted compliance report to share with your customers and prospects.

HIPAA frameworks in the Thoropass platform
STEP 5
And beyond

Leverage our end-to-end platform to add frameworks, renew attestation, and ensure continuous compliance.

Frequently asked questions

HIPAA compliance is essential for a wide range of organizations that handle protected health information (PHI). Primarily, this includes two main categories: covered entities (CE) and business associates (BA). CEs encompass healthcare providers, health plans, and healthcare clearinghouses. These organizations are directly involved in the treatment, payment, and operations of healthcare services, making HIPAA compliance crucial to their operations. Maintaining audit trails is important for tracking compliance activities.

 

BAs, on the other hand, are third parties that access patient information to provide services such as billing, data analysis, and IT support. These associates must also adhere to HIPAA regulations to ensure the security and confidentiality of PHI. Additionally, subcontractors of business associates, hybrid entities that conduct both HIPAA-covered and non-covered functions, and researchers who work with PHI as part of their studies are required to be HIPAA compliant. Ensuring compliance across these diverse groups helps protect sensitive healthcare data and maintain patient trust.

 Protected Health Information (PHI) refers to any individually identifiable health information that is created, received, maintained, or transmitted by a CE or its BAs. This includes demographic information, medical records, billing information, and any other data that can be used to identify a patient. PHI is a cornerstone of patient privacy and security, and its protection is a primary goal of HIPAA compliance.

 

PHI includes a wide range of data, including:

  • Demographic information, such as name, address, and date of birth
  • Medical records, including diagnoses, treatments, and test results
  • Billing information, including insurance claims and payment records
  • Any other data that can be used to identify a patient, including social security numbers and driver’s license numbers

To achieve HIPAA compliance, CEs and BAs must meet several stringent requirements designed to protect both PHI and electronic protected health information (ePHI). These requirements include:

  1. Implement Physical and Technical Safeguards: Organizations must establish measures to protect PHI and ePHI from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. This includes secure storage, encryption, and access controls. Additionally, the use of data encryption is crucial to protect ePHI from unauthorized access during transmission and storage.
  2. Develop and Implement Policies and Procedures: Clear policies and procedures for handling PHI and ePHI must be in place. These should cover all aspects of data management, from collection to disposal.
  3. Train Employees on HIPAA Compliance: Regular training sessions are essential to ensure that all employees understand their roles and responsibilities regarding HIPAA compliance. This helps prevent accidental breaches and ensures everyone is aware of the latest regulations.
  4. Conduct Regular Audits and Risk Assessments: Organizations must routinely assess their systems and processes to identify potential vulnerabilities and threats. This proactive approach helps mitigate risks before they lead to data breaches.
  5. Respond to Breaches and Incidents: In the event of a breach, organizations must have a response plan in place to address the incident promptly and effectively. This includes notifying affected individuals and taking steps to prevent future occurrences.

The HIPAA Security Rule mandates that CEs and BAs implement three types of safeguards to protect electronic protected health information (ePHI): administrative, physical, and technical safeguards. HIPAA compliance software can be used to implement these technical safeguards effectively, ensuring robust protection of sensitive patient information. Maintaining audit trails is crucial for tracking compliance activities and ensuring adherence to HIPAA regulations.

The Privacy Rule applies to Covered Entities such as healthcare providers, health plans, and clearinghouses that handle PHI in any format—digital, paper, or verbal. If your organization is already HIPAA-compliant under the Security Rules, the Privacy Rule adds additional layers of requirements to address the privacy of PHI. It also applies to business associates, including contractors and subcontractors who handle PHI on behalf of CEs.

 

HIPAA Security focuses on safeguarding electronic protected health information (ePHI) and establishes standards for the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of electronic data.

 

Thoropass can support you on your journey to achieve both.

An incident response plan is a critical component of HIPAA compliance, outlining the procedures for responding to incidents, including breaches of protected health information (PHI). A well-structured incident response plan ensures that your organization can effectively manage and mitigate the impact of security incidents.