HIPAA is a government program designed to ensure the safety of individuals under the care of health-related facilities. This information is by nature sensitive and exploitable by criminal elements in modern society. Unfortunately, as technology develops, so do vulnerabilities, predicating increasingly necessary measures of protection. This means, remaining in compliance isn’t a “static” thing. Since the law is always changing, you’ve got to stay on top of it or face some serious fines. Now, you can do this internally, but it’s going to be a big hassle and you may not be properly comprehensive. Meanwhile, hiring an IT support provider in Atlanta gives you comprehensive compliance coverage, continuous upgrades, and the added benefit of shared liability. Shared liability between an MSP and a healthcare facility means that if something undermines operations in violation of HIPAA standards, the MSP gets fined as well. Accordingly, MSPs have developed a deep list of compliance protocols which can be grouped into three primary families:
- Assessment
- Compliance
- Maintenance
Assessment
An IT support provider in Atlanta will first assess your current security to see what you need and what you don’t. Several things will be employed to do this. A penetration testing solution will be implemented, wherein a tech person tries to break into your system directly. Vulnerability tests will be applied to see where weak points are. Additionally, IT experts will assess your online applications, as well as your mobile ones to ensure there aren’t any underhanded third-party applications hiding in the wings. Next, they’ll check your operation to see how aware your staff are as pertains to operational security. Your firewalls will be reviewed and, if necessary, they will be reconfigured. Security, in terms of wireless application, will be pursued as well.
Compliance
After this is done, your hardware and software will be fixed so that they are in compliance and cataloged if they are to ensure they remain so when upgrades become necessary. Policies will be created, where they aren’t already extant and operational exigencies will be logged. Next, IT services will be properly managed so that operations are visible. This will help a given MSP maintain your secure operation. Training will also be instituted to help employees remain on top of security as best they can.
Maintenance
In order to ensure all these measures remain effective, healthcare institutions will be audited monthly to ensure compliance. Patches and updates will be applied, and systems will be proactively monitored around-the-clock. Finally, an IT provider that is HIPAA-focused will be brought to bear on IT management to ensure total compliance.
Attaining Appropriate HIPAA Compliance
IT support in Atlanta through MIS Solutions, Inc. can help you to remain in compliance. This is increasingly necessary, as the medical and technology world have a very symbiotic relationship. Technology drives medicine, and vice versa for a variety of reasons. Accordingly, changes will come and these will be followed by various legal needs. So, ensure you don’t get undermined by such transitions. Contact us now for HIPAA-compliant security, as well as consultation and professional IT implementation solutions designed to streamline operations.