Improving Security Through Regulatory Compliance

This article will look at what the health care industry is doing to meet HIPAA compliance, save on IT costs and ensure security is baked in as well.

There are a multitude of SaaS (cloud or ASP) offerings across the health care industry. Many small practices cannot afford traditional IT, regulatory compliance and security services. With a SaaS solution, health care providers can focus on the business, rather than the technology, used in the business process.

Some of the key advantages are:

• Data is stored in advanced, physically separate data centers.
• Data is centralized in robust databases, which the business does not have to manage.
• Minimal IT resources are required at your facility.
• Data is always backed up.
• No need to worry about HIPAA and state privacy data storage issues at your facility.
• The software is always up-to-date.
• No additional fees are charged for routine enhancements.
• No additional fees for HIPAA-mandated changes (such as NPI, ICD-10 or X12 5010).
• No need to download any software or configure any hardware.
• Access is browser based, via common browsers, such as Internet Explorer and Firefox.
• The application is compatible with Windows, Linux and Mac platforms.
• Data is accessible from any location deemed acceptable to the business.

What about security?

Most SaaS venders host services and data in separate data centers built on separate power grids. One data center serves as the primary data center; the second data center serves as a backup to the primary, should a natural disaster cause a disruption at the primary site.

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