Data security is a structural approach to preventing unauthorized access, change, disclosure, and destruction of IT information across its lifecycle. Organizations get a framework of tech-based protections and regulations to secure data against potential risks like viruses, unintentional loss, hackers, physical theft, etc. What is compliance in data security management? Processing, storing, and safeguarding data while adhering to specific laws, regulations, industry standards, or internal procedures is known as compliance. Compliance ensures that organizations follow the guidelines established to stop data breaches, secure private information, and minimize the consequences of non-compliance. Data security and compliance are drawing the wide-scale attention of an increasing number of businesses than ever before because of the advanced requirements of adequate data protection, data storage, and information management.
Data security and compliance are interconnected concepts involving critical data protection and secured sensitive information management. Data security is aimed at preventing unauthorized access, destruction of digital data, disclosure, and alteration, while data compliance ensures that organizations follow particular industry standards, regulatory requirements, and internal policies while storing and managing data. Implementing professionally developed tailored-to-need data security solutions helps organizations meet relevant compliances with specific standards and regulations. On the other hand, compliance improves the organization's overall data security posture. Effective data compliance strategies promote the best practices in data security management, including multi-factor authentication, risk assessments, and staunch encryption. Data security and compliance work toward the same goals but with different landscapes. Security ensures that the organization is well-protected while compliance informs the clients and other stakeholders about this security protection fostering trust in the business brand.
HIPAA and HITRUST are two compliance often used interchangeably for data management in the healthcare industry. Despite being created with the same objective of securing protected health information (PHI) and having overlapping requirements, their applicability differs. So, which is better to secure data in the healthcare industry?
What is HITRUST? Founded in 2007, the Health Information Trust Alliance (HITRUST) is a non-profit organization known for developing the HITRUST Common Security Framework (CSF) to help organizations particularly the healthcare industry manage information risk and demonstrate compliance. HITRUST is a voluntary private framework providing a comprehensive instruction set for data security control. HITRUST incorporates more than 40 data security standards and frameworks including HIPAA, Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS), International Information Security Standard (ISO), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST 800-53), Control Objectives for Information and Related Technologies (COBIT), NIST Cybersecurity Framework, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and others.
What is HIPAA? The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), a federal law, provides the healthcare industry to protect patient health information. Following HIPAA compliance is mandatory for healthcare businesses and their associates whole maintain electronic health records. HIPAA’s compliance allows the healthcare industry to follow five main rules- Privacy Rule; Breach Notification Rule; Security Rule; Enforcement Rule; and Transactions Rule. HIPAA requires healthcare organizations to conduct annual self-audits to ensure compliance.
What Makes HITRUST and HIPAA Different? HITRUST is a globally acknowledged framework for security and risk management, whereas HIPAA is a U.S. law framed to govern health industry standards for protecting patient’s health information. When the Common Security Framework (CSF) was first popularized, it was focused on healthcare organizations.
HIPAA defines the rules for PHI security, while HITRUST outlines a framework facilitating organizations to achieve and certify compliance with HIPAA and other regulatory standards. HIPAA Users need to visit the HITRUST portal to perform a self-assessment, and select the degree of certification and assurance; the HITRUST portal assigns an assessor to conduct an audit. HITRUST reviews HIPAA qualification audit report for final approval. Being a voluntary framework, HITRUST doesn’t penalize the organizations that fail to comply; while the failure to comply with HIPAA may cause a penalty. HIPAA doesn’t demand direct payment to stay compliant except from a fee for an external auditor; while HITRUST typically costs more because of being a company-rendered service. The continuous changes guided HITRUST to leverage international standards and expand adoption also into other industries including media and entertainment, financial services, travel, hospitality, telecommunications, and startups.
According to HITRUST, 80% of hospitals and 85% of healthcare insurers use HITRUST CSF to be compliant. While HITRUST is not the only choice to have HIPAA, it is the top standard for achieving HIPAA compliance and certification. The selection between HITRUST and HIPAA is not an either-or choice, but it depends on your organization’s business niche, services, workflow, and needs. HIPAA is mandatory for healthcare organizations in the United States, bounding them to follow minimum standards for protecting PHI. For healthcare organizations, HIPAA compliance is non-negotiable. Healthcare institutions can pursue HITRUST certification as an additional PHI security measure to demonstrate a stronger commitment to data protection. Non-healthcare organizations aren’t subjected to HIPAA but can adopt HITRUST to implement a more
trustworthy security framework to impress potential clients
.
Instead of focusing on “which is better for my organization - HITRUST or HIPAA?”, you should focus on “What is the best way to demonstrate HIPAA compliance within my organization?” The government outlines HIPAA to provide guidelines that can be applied according to an organization’s particular needs and structure. Here comes HITRUST. HITRUST enables organizations to plan, design, implement, assess, and manage their security compliance programs in line with HIPAA and other standards. HITRUST offers organizations the fostered confidence in their ability to meet PHI compliance standards. However, while comparing the audit requirements of HIPAA and the HITRUST processes, HITRUST demands a greater investment of effort. The process of being HITRUST certified is lengthier and more detailed, requiring organizations to thoroughly assess and address numerous aspects of data privacy and security. HITRUST comes at a higher price tag.
Breaches of ePHI are the top concern for healthcare IT organizations. Need help consulting which audit HITRUST or HIPAA is appropriate for your organization? Let’s talk today about HIPAA, HITRUST, and other security programs. RITC Cybersecurity’s team has years of experience in implementing the required physical, technical, and administrative controls to maintain ePHI compliance in the healthcare industry. The experienced assessors audit the existing environment and provide a gap analysis, assessment, and remediation guidance simplifying achieving the required compliance certification.
Book a free chat at RITC Cyber Security.