HIPAA Compliance and Healthcare Cybersecurity Best Practices

Navigating HIPAA Compliance in the Digital Age: Best Practices for Healthcare IT Leaders

To stand apart in the modern digital era, healthcare organizations must fully integrate technology and leverage the latest tech innovations. But how can healthcare leaders ensure data security and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) compliance – amidst the lightning-fast evolution of tech tools, countless internal and external platforms and moving parts, diverse roles of employees, and continually changing regulations?

Here, we explore common challenges you may face as an IT or compliance leader, and present best practices and solutions you can implement to help reach your organization’s HIPAA and cybersecurity goals.

Healthcare IT and compliance leaders share common pain points

Healthcare leaders who oversee HIPAA compliance and cybersecurity at a strategic level – including chief compliance officers, chief information officers, and chief technology officers – face a familiar set of hurdles:

• Ever-changing regulations related to cybersecurity and IT that make it challenging to stay current and ensure compliance
• Management of multiple complex responsibilities and roles, from cybersecurity to regulatory compliance
• Integration of outsourced and internally created compliance content to ensure consistency and comprehensiveness across all platforms and processes
• Concerns about current compliance and unexpected immediate compliance verification and auditing
• Confirmation that all appropriate parties will be notified, understand, and correctly implement regulatory changes across the organization

HIPAA changes are on the horizon

The HIPAA Security Rule has not been changed since 2013. However, on December 27, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued a proposal that would modify the HIPAA Security Rule.

In an HHS statement, OCR Director Melanie Fontes Rainer said, “This proposed rule to upgrade the HIPAA Security Rule addresses current and future cybersecurity threats. It would require updates to existing cybersecurity safeguards to reflect advances in technology and cybersecurity, and help ensure that doctors, health plans, and others providing health care meet their obligations to protect the security of individuals’ protected health information across the nation.”

While regulatory policy almost always lags behind technological advancements, healthcare leaders are bound to soon see tighter HIPAA regulations and increasing responsibilities as new technology continues to emerge.

Advances in artificial intelligence, machine learning, wearable health devices, genomics, diagnostics, scheduling platforms, patient portals, and clinical decision support systems will create new opportunities for cybercriminals and drive new regulatory requirements. Healthcare leaders can be proactive in bolstering their organization’s cybersecurity to protect patients and anticipate regulatory changes.

Interpreting and implementing regulatory complexities can be taxing

Even a description of the resources designed to elucidate the intersection of data security and HIPAA can sound overwhelming.

Case in point: To help HIPAA-regulated entities interpret the HIPAA Security Rule and implement strategies to achieve compliance, improve cybersecurity, and manage risks to electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI), the U.S. Department of Commerce National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has published its final version of Special Publication (SP) 800-66r2 (Revision 2), Implementing the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Security Rule: A Cybersecurity Resource Guide.

Sound complex? That’s just a teaser. For some more light reading, you can take a dive into the complete NIST guide. Actually, this extensive NIST resource is quite handy. It covers critical IT topics and, specifically, how they intersect with HIPAA. You’ll find critical information on medical device security, the internet of medical things, critical infrastructure cybersecurity, mobile app security, media sanitation, cloud-based architecture, and much more.

And while the NIST guide may prove helpful (and palatable) for health IT leaders, compliance professionals, and cybersecurity experts, there are many other key personnel in healthcare organizations who’ll need a distilled version – clear, accessible training explicitly designed to outline the individual roles they play in maintaining HIPAA compliance and patient data security.

All team members – from physicians to appointment schedulers – must have tailored, ongoing training to help them develop the awareness that is essential for maintaining compliance and protecting against costly cybersecurity threats.

Modern tech may not be HIPAA compliant

It’s important not to assume new tech is compliant with HIPAA regulations. In a December 2024 issue of The HIPAA Journal, editor-in-chief Steve Alder covered the use of technology and HIPAA compliance: “Many forms of frequently-used communication are not HIPAA compliant. Unsecure channels of communication generally include SMS, free messaging services, and email because copies of messages are left on service providers’ servers over which a healthcare organization has no control.”

There are many specifications tech must meet to be HIPAA compliant, Alder explains. For example, technology must be encrypted at rest and in transit, have unique user identifiers, and have an automatic log-off to prevent unauthorized access to protected health information (PHI) when a mobile device is left unattended. Each new tech tool a healthcare organization introduces must meet these specs and more.

Best practices for HIPAA compliance in a digital age

To overcome these challenges healthcare leaders commonly face, you can design a strategic plan customized to fit your organization and its unique technologies. The following best practices can serve as a starting point:

1. Encrypt all PHI (both at rest and in transit) to shield it from unauthorized access.
2. Implement robust authentication and access controls to ensure only authorized personnel can access PHI.
3. Minimize data sharing of PHI to each particular task.
4. Run routine risk assessments to identify vulnerabilities in systems that handle PHI.
5. Ensure all third parties handling PHI on your behalf are bound by HIPAA-compliant business associate agreements.
6. Establish and continually update policies that comply with HIPAA to guide staff on handling PHI.
7. Develop procedures, including encryption, secure apps, and remote wipe capabilities, for the secure use of mobile devices that access PHI.
8. Conduct regular security audits to identify and mitigate risks and ensure HIPAA compliance.
9. Implement a continuous improvement program to assess the effectiveness of HIPAA compliance efforts and integrate lessons learned.
10. Educate staff on an array of role-appropriate topics, including HIPAA compliance, cybersecurity threats, and security protocols to handle PHI.

Strengthen security awareness across your organization

HealthStream offers a comprehensive suite of cybersecurity awareness and training solutions tailored for the healthcare industry.

Our Security Awareness Solution offers:

• Training compliant with HIPAA, FTC, ISO, and NIST standards to help ensure your staff is up to date with the latest regulatory requirements
• Gamified and classic courseware designed to help you build a culture of protection and safety at your organization
• Comprehensive training on topics including cyberattacks, critical security protocols, encryption, data analytics, risk identification, insider threats, patient data protection, remote security awareness, PCI and payment card security, and recovery skills for data disasters

Learn more about our Security Awareness Solution.