Giva HIPAA-Compliant Cloud Help Desk Software
Giva's HIPAA-compliant cloud help desk software protects electronic health & medical records. Discover how Giva exceeds the key elements of HIPAA compliance.
Key Elements of Giva's HIPAA-Compliant Cloud Help Desk Software for Electronic Health & Medical Records
All USA based hospitals, healthcare organizations, affiliated industries and foreign organizations doing business in the USA are required by law to meet the regulations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). HIPAA compliance requires very strict security policies and data encryption with significant penalties for failing to protect personal health information (PHI) in electronic health and medical records.
Giva makes HIPAA compliance very easy for our customers since the data center hardware and software infrastructure of Giva's cloud help desk software meet the very strict HIPAA compliance regulations.
Learn More About Giva HIPAA Compliance
Business Associates Agreements (BAA)
Giva's HIPAA-Compliant Cloud Help Desk Software Includes a Business Associates Agreement (BAA) to Protect Electronic Health & Medical Records
- A HIPAA BAA is a contract between a HIPAA-covered entity (Giva's customer) and a HIPAA business associate (Giva). The contract protects personal health information (PHI) in any electronic health or medical record of the HIPAA-covered entity in accordance with HIPAA regulations.
- The signed BAA contractually obligates Giva to protect our customer's PHI. This means that Giva shares liability with our customers in the very unlikely event of a data breach.
- The signed BAA contractually binds the service provider to protect PHI. This means the service provider shares liability with the covered entity in the event of a data breach.
- A BAA clearly defines the roles and responsibilities of Giva in protecting PHI in hospital and healthcare electronic health or medical records.
- HIPAA certified cloud help desk software used by a hospital or healthcare organization without a BAA is not HIPAA complaint.
HIPAA Software Requirements
HIPAA is the US law that regulates how all healthcare information is used and shared. It applies to every type of health data: digital, hard-copy, even spoken conversations. HIPAA is a 'black box', a confusing morass of regulations and requirements that is anything but intuitive. To make matters worse, the majority of information about HIPAA compliance is written for medical providers and clinicians. For healthcare software companies, HIPAA compliance is critical. Healthcare customers want proof of HIPAA compliance and hackers will continue to push the limits to break your security and privacy, so it is important to stay ahead.
The headlines are filled with news of large and small healthcare organizations being levied with significant fines if they breach HIPAA compliance. The loss of credibility and reputation from a data breach can be even worse for HIPAA compliant software companies, for whom reputation and credibility are very important. No matter the cost required to comply with HIPAA, the cost of non-compliance is always greater.
HIPAA enforcement has been ramping up over recent years. In addition to the official HIPAA enforcement agency, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), changes to HIPAA in the HITECH Act have given new HIPAA enforcement powers to each of the fifty U.S. States' Attorney Generals. Although not officially tasked to enforce HIPAA, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has also stepped in to investigate and prosecute technology companies whose claims of data privacy and security are misleading or false.
HIPAA can often be an enormous burden to many software companies. However, HIPAA compliance is one of the best frameworks to build cloud applications as secure and immune to data breach as possibly. By setting very high security and privacy standards based on best practices, HIPAA helps protect health data and software company's reputations. By creating solid and time-tested security procedures that emphasize patient privacy and consumer rights, and encryption, HIPAA helps ensure customer satisfaction. By requiring a written Business Associate Agreement for customers, vendors and partners, HIPAA clarifies roles, responsibilities, and relationships of the software company.
About HIPAA Compliance Software Certification
Although the US Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights oversees and enforces the privacy rules under HIPAA, it doesn't offer an official HIPAA "certification." In fact, there is no officially recognized HIPAA compliance certification, although some entities privately offer HIPAA certifications if an organization meets the seven key elements. All of Giva's help desk and customer service software in the cloud applications are HIPAA compliant. Most of the criteria required for HIPAA-compliant software is related to the data center where it is hosted.