Summary:
- Navigating cloud HIPAA compliance is crucial for healthcare organizations’ protected health information (PHI) and avoid legal repercussions.
- This blog outlines the shared responsibilities between cloud providers and healthcare organizations, emphasizing the need for Business Associate Agreements (BAAs) and robust security measures. It also highlights key requirements for choosing a HIPAA-compliant cloud service, such as encryption and access controls.
- Understanding these elements ensures both efficiency and compliance in a digitized healthcare environment.
- For further expert guidance, consider Digital Scientists’ HIPAA-compliant cloud solutions.
The growing digitization of healthcare solutions offers numerous benefits to both providers and patients. Providers benefit from efficiency, scalability, and cost savings. Patients benefit from increased convenience and flexibility. But all of this comes at a potential cost.
The healthcare industry’s growing reliance on cloud services for storing and processing sensitive patient data also raises critical concerns about protected health information (PHI) under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
Don’t be caught off guard or open your organization up to potential legal action. While this blog is not in any way intended to provide legal advice ─ only general information ─ we hope it helps you understand what HIPAA compliant cloud development solutions are on a foundational level and some of what they include.
Understanding HIPAA Compliant Cloud Computing
No cloud environment is inherently HIPAA compliant. That’s because, as Cloud Security Alliance notes, “compliance comes not from having a certain kind of technology or platform, but rather from configuring the platform in the appropriate ways.”
Establishing and maintaining appropriate levels of cloud security is a major component of ensuring a HIPAA-compliant cloud environment. According to the shared responsibility model, which is an AWS paradigm that has been adopted by other cloud providers, both security and compliance are shared responsibilities of both cloud provider and cloud customer.
The cloud provider is responsible for the security of the cloud infrastructure, while the healthcare provider is responsible for securing data within the cloud. This blog focuses mostly on the former, namely, choosing a HIPAA compliant cloud solution. However, as a healthcare provider, you must also understand your own responsibilities when it comes to digital security and protecting patient PHI.
When it comes specifically to choosing a cloud solution provider that is configured in such a way as to be compliant, here’s what to know.
5 Key Requirements for HIPAA Compliant Cloud Services
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has released a helpful HIPAA and cloud computing guide with key insights and answers to the most frequently-asked questions about cloud HIPAA compliance.
The entire guide is worth a read, to be sure, but some key takeaways you should be aware of are as follows:
- HIPAA Applies to the Cloud: HIPAA regulations extend to the cloud environment, and covered entities/business associates must ensure their CSPs are compliant.
- BAA is Legally Necessary: A Business Associate Agreement is mandatory when a CSP handles ePHI, outlining the responsibilities of both parties for data protection.
- Security is Paramount: Robust security measures, including encryption, access controls, and incident response plans, are crucial for maintaining HIPAA compliance in the cloud.
- Shared Responsibility: Both covered entities/business associates and CSPs share the responsibility for protecting ePHI, and their actions (or inactions) can affect each other’s compliance.
- Due Diligence: Thorough risk assessments and careful selection of reputable CSPs are essential steps in navigating the complexities of HIPAA compliance in the cloud.
Include Service Level Agreements in Your BAAs
Business associate agreements (BAAs) are, as you now know, legally necessary per HIPAA rules when HIPAA covered entities and business associates work together to store patient data in the cloud. While service level agreements (SLA) may not be, they can be extremely beneficial as inclusions in BAAs.
Here’s Why: “SLAs can include provisions that address HIPAA concerns such as system availability and reliability, back-up and data recovery, how data will be returned to the customer after service use termination, security responsibility and use, retention and disclosure limitations,” according to the AMA’s blog post “5 things to know about HIPAA and cloud computing.”
Choose Digital Scientists’ HIPAA Compliant Cloud Solutions
Looking for more information about how to choose a HIPAA compliant cloud provider or a software developer that is well-versed in all of the above and more? You need someone who has experience with custom development, healthcare, HIPAA compliance, and security.
With 15+ years of experience helping healthcare providers remain compliant while operating in a SaaS environment, Digital Scientists and our Digital Health Solutions are here to help.
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