The modern day enterprise landscape is loaded with unwarranted risks and data thefts of various kinds that happen from misuse of internet technology. There have been several instances where confidential and sensitive data has been at stake owing to fraudulent third party intruders and their means to steal data.

1. Challenges and Benefits of HIPAA/HITECH Compliance
The modern day enterprise landscape is loaded with unwarranted risks and data thefts of various kinds that
happen from misuse of internet technology. There have been several instances where confidential and sensitive
data has been at stake owing to fraudulent third party intruders and their means to steal data.
This is the reason why IT security and compliance has been gaining prominence today. Amidst the various security
issues, patient privacy still is one of the main concerns. Today with most patient data being converted into digital
format, enterprises have realized that they are vulnerable to potential threats and risks. Some of these risks
comprise of disaster that might lead to physical damage to computing devices that store patient health
information and stolen data by unapproved personnel.
Before the enforcement of HIPAA i.e. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act by Congress in the year
1996 there were no global standard that were followed to check whether a healthcare provider was adequately
securing their patient health information (PHI). HIPAA was set up to foster the portability and confidentiality of
patient records and to set up standards for consistency in the medical industry. Soon after HIPAA, came in HITECH
i.e. Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act in 1990 that made the clauses of HIPAA
even stricter and included penalties for non-compliance. Some of the modern day compliance challenges include:
Setting up and offering security and IT compliance for review by auditors
Being able to handle written agreements as well as proof-of-compliance from every Business Associate
having access to PHI
To be able to manage the 382 controls under HIPAA/HITECH on which you are addressed on compliance
stages
To ensure that a company stays secure and compliant on an ongoing basis
Therefore, under the HIPAA HITECH Compliance management guidelines medical organizations today are
compelled to comply with policies that are associated to securing their system. This also helps the patients to have
the confidence that their personal medical data shall stay private.
In order to attain the same, today companies specializing in compliance management solutions have come up with
innovative solutions that offer end-to-end security monitoring and compliance management. This is set up on a
framework that enables enterprises to have total control and enhance compliance levels all through 400 and more
regulations, that covers HIPAA, HITECH, PCI, SOX, ISO, COBIT and other country-specific regulations. Furthermore,
solutions have an inbuilt vulnerability scanning technique and security that makes HIPAA/HITECH compliance
monitoring easy and efficient.
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