Software vendors are offering powerful solutions to CIOs to attain HIPAA compliance easily.
FREMONT, CA: The rapid turn that technology has taken in the last couple of decades has ensured many transformations in the medical technology landscape. The emergence of IT service providers and the increased adoption of technological solutions by healthcare facilities have together facilitated the advancements. To maintain the safety of patient data and other medical information in the face of evolving technologies which could make information vulnerable to leakage or theft, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) was formulated. To simplify the implementation of the evolving regulations, companies have developed comprehensive suites with solutions that cater to firms which need HIPAA compliance. Here are the components CIOs can look for while choosing advanced solutions for HIPAA compliance.
• Assessment Tools
Audits and assessments form a mandatory part of HIPAA compliance. With the help of effective assessment tools, organizations can discover the state of compliance-related measures in the systems. A good HIPAA compliance solution must have the feature of self-audits which evaluate the risks and point out the areas of concern to create an opportunity for improvements. Through timely conduct of audits, firms are also able to determine infrastructural readiness towards HIPAA. When done manually, the internal audits are far less efficient, and there are fewer chances of discovering loopholes. Powerful assessment tools that can produce compliance-performance reports are what every CIO should look for, ideally.
• Intelligent Recommendations
Not only should the software point out the deficiencies in compliance plans, but it should also be able to suggest remedial steps that help in fixing the existing problems. The more detailed the recommendations are towards helping a healthcare firm overcome the issues, the better is the software product. CIOs should opt for solutions that are backed by robust and intelligent recommendation engines that suggest the right steps towards acing HIPAA compliance.
• Automated Security Monitoring
HIPAA solutions that offer automated monitoring capabilities can be extremely handy for CIOs. The features of automation reduce dependence on professionals and make the day-to-day tasks of discovering lapses simpler. Every policy under HIPAA can be accounted for with powerful tools that keep a check on processes throughout the day and optimize threat detection. The solutions which track user activity across disparate channels give the best kind of visibility into security violations and strengthening HIPAA compliance further.
• Centralized Platform for Identity Management
Compliance management solutions with robust identity management features serve the purpose of healthcare firms well when it comes to HIPAA. Handling individual identities of customers and patients, along with all the sensitive healthcare information is complicated. With technology-backed solutions, healthcare firms can create individual identities of customers and manage them from a centralized platform. CIOs can provide stakeholders with secure and selective access to patient data with flexible yet protected identity management tools to deliver on HIPAA compliance norms.
• Configurable Frameworks and Training Modules
Compliance to HIPAA will vary in nature from organization to organization. CIOs should be prepared to look for solutions that are designed to give users flexibility in terms of how they want to adopt the regulations into practice. Customizable templates in software offerings are a must when it comes to effective implementation of HIPAA policies. Along with that, the solutions should also have inbuilt training modules. With basic training regarding how to use the software suite, employees are able to use the platforms to maximum effect.
Additionally, the facilities of associate management, secure logins, user verifications, and accounting management in software suites offered by vendors create better prospects of HIPAA compliance. CIOs can cut down costs and add reliable capabilities to their quest of achieving HIPAA compliance with multi-functional solutions.
