Skip to main content »

HIPAA – Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

What does HIPAA mean and how is HIPAA compliance determined?

HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, a U.S. federal law that regulates how health care providers, clearinghouses, insurance companies and business staff collect and use sensitive patient health information.

From a data security perspective, health care providers and companies must take measures to protect “individually-identifiable health information,” which can include a patient’s medical and mental health histories, along with payment data.  When selecting appropriate safeguards, organizations are required to consider factors such as the size and capabilities of the safeguards, the cost of the security measures, and the likelihood and potential impact of risks to electronic patient health information (ePHI). Violating HIPAA could result in fines as high as $50,000 per violation or $1.5 million per year, along with potential criminal penalties.

How does HIPAA data center and cloud hosting work?

All Abacus Private Cloud accounts are built to be HIPAA-compliant from the outset, and can help store your patients’ ePHI in an encrypted cloud-based environment that you can access anytime on any device.    Our hosting experts will also help securely migrate your patients’ data and implement data security safeguards that are appropriate for protecting the data you’re storing.

How can I audit and maintain compliance with HIPAA?

Our team of HIPAA virtual cloud hosting experts can step in to handle the same auditing and compliance tasks that an internal IT division would normally cover.  Our HIPAA cloud hosting team can work with you to help properly protect your patients’ sensitive health information you would be storing, and come up with a robust plan to customize your account features that accommodates your needs.

What other compliance standards are similar to HIPAA?

HIPAA is the controlling standard for how health care providers and insurance companies in the United States can manage, use and disclose the sensitive patient health information.

Are there Abacus clients that are HIPAA compliant today?

Yes!  Contact our HIPAA cloud hosting team to learn how Abacus Private Cloud can help your organization meet HIPAA’s stringent compliance requirements.

Additional Resources

  1. Summary of the HIPAA Security Rule 
  2. Truevault – What is the penalty for a HIPAA violation? 
Share this article