Compliance Standards

The HIPAA guidelines for healthcare professionals have been relatively stable for over a decade. Now, with changes to both requirements and enforcement proposed, adjusting your organizational cybersecurity may be necessary to avoid penalties.

When comparing HIPAA compliance service providers, there are four key factors to target:

• Their approach to access control, which is critical for HIPAA Privacy Rule compliance
• Their capacity for risk assessment and management for the HIPAA Security Rule
• Their visibility and communications infrastructure for HIPAA Breach Notifications
• Their ability to help you meet all your regulatory compliance needs efficiently

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a U.S. law signed on August 21, 1996, that sets national standards for protecting sensitive patient health information. HIPAA was created to ensure that personal medical records remain private, secure, and accessible only to authorized individuals, while still allowing patients to access their own data.

Before HIPAA, most healthcare records were stored in paper form, and there were no federal laws regulating how health data could be shared or protected. As the healthcare industry shifted toward electronic systems in the 1990s, lawmakers recognized the need to secure digital records while keeping them available for patient care.

Since its adoption, HIPAA compliance has evolved through major updates to address new technologies and cybersecurity risks. In this article, we’ll explain how HIPAA has changed over time, why it matters for healthcare and data security, and share practical tips for staying compliant.