Regular HIPAA security risk assessments enable covered entities make sure that administrative, physical, and technical precautions are being followed. They also help identify potential risks to the protected health information (PHI) of the company.
Protected health information (PHI) can be stored anywhere, and there is always a danger involved in doing so in the modern, digital healthcare environment. Security Rule mandates that covered entities (CEs) and business partners complete periodic security risk assessments because the value of ePHI has expanded tremendously over the past few decades (BAs). If you needs more info? click here.
Consistently conducting HIPAA security risk assessments helps organisations identify potential risks to PHI and ensure compliance with HIPAA’s administrative, physical, and technical safeguards. Healthcare businesses must set up strict controls and governance in addition to completing assessments to reduce risks found during the security risk assessment.
Why are security risk assessments important for healthcare?
PHI was only available in a few locations in the 1970s, and it wasn’t really worth stealing. It changed in the 1990s as networks and technology developed. Although dispersed servers, local and wide area networks, and smart workstations greatly increased the number of PHI sites, they also made data access more efficient. The first instances of PHI being sold boosted its potential worth and, hence, the incentive to steal it.
Healthcare became a prime target for cyberattacks with the 2009 Affordable Care Act and the shift to electronic health data, thus CEs had to change the way they approached security risk management.
Now, under HIPAA standards, CEs must safeguard their own business operations and data as well as that of their BAs who have access to PHI. For multi-location and national health systems, the number of business associate agreements (BAAs) could be hundreds for a single institution. CEs are able to assess both internal and external risk areas because to HIPAA security risk assessments.
In order to maintain a solid security and compliance strategy, HIPAA security risk assessments are essential. A top-down strategy and shared commitment from each senior leadership team member are necessary for performing frequent, consistent assessments so that they become ingrained in the organisational culture.