Healthcare organizations must navigate a complex landscape of regulations and standards in order to ensure the security and privacy of patient data. Two of the most important frameworks in this area are the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Health Information Trust Alliance (HITRUST).
In this blog post, we will explore the differences and similarities between HIPAA and HITRUST.
HIPAA is a federal law that was enacted in 1996 to protect the privacy and security of patient health information. HIPAA requires healthcare organizations to implement administrative, physical, and technical safeguards to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of protected health information (PHI).
HIPAA also requires that healthcare organizations implement policies and procedures for responding to data breaches and reporting them to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In fact, we've been covering breaches each month via the Paubox HIPAA Breach Report. You can view January's report here.
HITRUST, on the other hand, is a non-profit organization that was founded in 2007 to help healthcare organizations meet the complex and ever-evolving regulatory landscape. HITRUST has developed a common security framework that is based on a variety of existing standards and regulations, including HIPAA.
The HITRUST CSF is designed to provide a comprehensive, risk-based approach to securing patient data, and it is recognized by regulators, healthcare organizations, and insurance companies as the gold standard for information security in healthcare.
As part of our startup journey, we attained HITRUST CSF certification for our solutions in 2019 and have kept it ever since.
See related: The Paubox HITRUST Journey
One of the key differences between HIPAA and HITRUST is that HIPAA is a federal law, while HITRUST is a voluntary framework. While healthcare organizations are required to comply with HIPAA, they are not required to adopt the HITRUST CSF.
Many organizations however, choose to follow or attain HITRUST CSF in order to demonstrate their commitment to information security and to meet the expectations of regulators, healthcare providers, and insurance companies.
Another difference between HIPAA and HITRUST is that HIPAA focuses primarily on privacy and security, while HITRUST takes a more comprehensive approach that includes privacy, security, and operational considerations.
For example, HIPAA requires healthcare organizations to implement physical and technical safeguards to protect patient data, but it does not address the operational aspects of information security, such as incident response and business continuity planning. HITRUST, on the other hand, provides a more comprehensive framework that covers all aspects of information security, including privacy, security, and operational considerations.
Despite these differences, HIPAA and HITRUST have several similarities as well. For example, both frameworks recognize the importance of risk management and require healthcare organizations to conduct regular risk assessments. Both frameworks also require healthcare organizations to implement strong access controls and to regularly review and audit their information security practices. Additionally, both HIPAA and HITRUST require healthcare organizations to implement policies and procedures for responding to data breaches and reporting them to relevant authorities.
Another similarity between HIPAA and HITRUST is that both frameworks place a strong emphasis on continuous improvement. HIPAA requires healthcare organizations to review and update their information security policies and procedures on a regular basis, and HITRUST requires organizations to conduct regular assessments of their information security practices in order to identify areas for improvement.
In conclusion, HIPAA and HITRUST are two of the most important frameworks for ensuring the privacy and security of patient data in healthcare. While they have some differences, they also have several similarities, including a focus on risk management, strong access controls, and continuous improvement.
It should be noted that an official HIPAA compliant certification does not exist and that HITRUST is widely perceived as the closest thing to it.
By adopting both HIPAA and HITRUST, healthcare organizations can demonstrate their commitment to information security and meet the expectations of regulators, healthcare providers, and insurance companies.