HHS HIPAA Compliance
Healthcare Data Protection
What is HIPAA?
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), regulated by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), establishes national standards for protecting sensitive patient health information (PHI).
HIPAA requires covered entities and business associates to implement safeguards that ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of healthcare data.
Key HIPAA requirements:
- Access Control: Limit access to PHI to authorized users.
- Authentication: Verify user identities before granting access.
- Audit Controls: Track all access to PHI and maintain audit trails.
- Data Protection: Safeguard PHI in storage and transmission.
- Integrity Controls: Prevent unauthorized modification of PHI.
- Emergency Access: Ensure availability of PHI during emergencies.
How Visual Guard facilitates HIPAA compliance:
Granular RBAC:
Enforce least-privilege access to PHI across healthcare applications and systems.
MFA authentication:
Require strong identity verification for all staff accessing healthcare systems.
Audit trails:
Record all access to PHI and system changes in immutable audit logs.
Data segmentation:
Apply access rules down to individual patient records or data fields.
Compliance reporting:
Generate logs and reports to support HIPAA audits and investigations.
Detailed technical capabilities
Access Control & Identity Management
- Role-based access down to screen, function, or data field
- Context-aware access based on device, time, or location
Authentication Security
- MFA with support for smart cards, biometrics, and OTP
Audit & Monitoring
- Immutable and exportable logs of PHI access
- SIEM integration for incident response monitoring
User Lifecycle Management
- Automated provisioning and deprovisioning integrated with HR systems
Use case
Securing electronic medical records (EMR)
A hospital must comply with HIPAA to secure electronic medical records and protect patient privacy.
How Visual Guard helped:
- Restricted access to PHI by role (doctor, nurse, administrator).
- Required MFA for staff accessing EMR systems.
- Logged all PHI access to ensure HIPAA audit readiness.
- Generated compliance reports for internal and external auditors.
Result: The hospital ensured PHI confidentiality, prevented insider misuse, and maintained HIPAA compliance.