Information needs to be sent from one healthcare facility to another without the risk of it becoming altered or compromised by a third party. These days, without a vast technological empire known as the internet, a security breach is possible. Still, specific stipulations can help healthcare facilities ensure appropriately managed data as it travels from one facility to another. HIPPA or the Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act of 1996 provides stipulations on data transfers to ensure the safety and confidentiality of patients.
Naturally, modern healthcare facilities rely on these regulations to move information through electronic means from one place to another. Compliance is necessary, and facilities throughout the United States regularly invest in HIPPA standards to protect their patient’s information, but what about your website and following WordPress hosting services? How can you ensure that your cloud-hosted healthcare data is HIPAA compliant when you buy WordPress hosting? Here are a few ways.
Firewall and Intrusion Prevention System
Your standard firewall is excellent for securing specific sites, but these devices can be breached, and high-end hackers know just how to do it. Your domain and web hosting services should provide a more robust version of a firewall system along with a high-intensity intrusion prevention system to be HIPAA compliant.
Encrypted VPNs
VPNs or Virtual Private Networks are an essential part of HIPPA compliance. VPNs on your website help disguise essential information such as online identity and internet traffic. VPNs make it more difficult for outside entities to track data transfers and gain access to vital patient information within your facility. Your shared WordPress hosting site should provide VPNs to be HIPAA compliant.
Encrypted Data
Data Encryption makes it more difficult for hackers to seek out and take information as it travels across the cloud. Encryption has been used for many years within emails and transfers. Still, to be fully HIPAA compliant, your healthcare facility needs to invest in encryption for all data and maintain encrypted data when at rest, meaning all your essential files that are not in use are encrypted as well.
High-End Authentication
It can be a little annoying to undergo authentication on websites, but it is a vital part of your HIPAA-compliant healthcare website. Authentication measures should be multifunctional and include various levels for access. Although it might be a little annoying, high-end authentication is one of the best ways to maintain optimal security for patients, staff, and everyone involved within your facility.
Log Management
There may be times where a system needs to undergo a data audit. These audits are designed to shed light on any potential breach area before data is leaked. Log management provides a trail and tracks who logged in at what time, so audits are easier to manage. If there is a breach at any time, you will know when and where the breach occurred and will be able to take appropriate action. The best-shared hosting for WordPress sites will offer log management for HIPAA compliance.
100% Server Uptime
Downtime of your server is harmful to any site, but according to HIPAA guidelines, healthcare websites are required to have 100% server uptime. Domain and web hosting services that provide healthcare websites understand this and will have some form of guarantee to ensure total 100% server uptime. A downed website is a vulnerable website, and that is not something you can compromise on when working with such vital, intimate, personal patient details.
SSL Certificates
Ensure your website has and maintains its SSL certificate. An SSL certificate helps secure vital information such as identifiable info, legal documents, credit card information, and much more. Any healthcare facility should always maintain its SSL certificate and invest in hosting services that promote its use.
Business Associate Agreement
A BAA or Business Associate Agreement is a HIPAA regulation that requires businesses to have a contractual assurance to compliance and protection standards for patients, associates, and anyone that works with the site.
SSAE 18 Certification
The SSAE 18 Certification is a measure that HIPAA has to secure data from unauthorized access. It makes the system confident is running as it should without any potential confidentiality concerns. Sites that manage and maintain their SSAE 18 Certification remain HIPAA compliant and are known for keeping their standards high.
HIPAA compliance for your healthcare website might not be easy, but it is essential to maintain confidence in your website and, ultimately, your healthcare facility. Your website extends the services you provide to your patients, and it should remain as secure as the physical facility itself. Affordable WordPress hosting may be essential for your bottom line. Still, HIPAA compliance when you buy WordPress hosting is even more critical, so do not simply be focused on price when choosing the right website hosting services for your healthcare business.