Secure & Compliant: How MSPs Help Healthcare Providers Meet HIPAA Standards

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 established a set of laws that serve as standards for healthcare providers to protect patient privacy. Managed service providers (MSPs) help safeguard this sensitive data by implementing and applying robust security measures to networks.

If you oversee a healthcare facility, you’re bound by these HIPAA security regulations, and you could face harsh penalties for failing to comply. That’s why it’s important to partner with an MSP. Their expertise keeps your policies and systems compliant. This guide addresses the importance of MSPs in the healthcare industry, including topics such as:

• Importance of HIPAA in healthcare
• What are managed services?
• Managed services and HIPAA
• Cost-saving impacts
• Why choose Solid Technology

At Solid Technology, we deliver expertise and excellence in every interaction, providing high-quality, cost-effective solutions to keep your facility HIPAA-compliant.

Importance of HIPAA in Healthcare

HIPAA establishes patients’ right to privacy in healthcare settings. It creates a set of privacy standards that prevent the disclosure of protected health information (PHI) without authorization. As technology has been integrated into all aspects of healthcare, from billing to patient records, it’s more crucial than ever to protect this sensitive data from malicious or unintentional leaks.

These regulations standardize electronic health transactions and provide a set of rules that help providers protect patient data. This standardization also facilitates the secure sharing of medical information, as all providers are required to adhere to the same regulations.

What Are Managed Services?

Managed services eliminate the guesswork of security management by outsourcing the task to a third-party company. They bypass the need for businesses to have a dedicated IT department by outsourcing the work to an MSP. In turn, MSPs provide ongoing, proactive support, monitoring, and maintenance.

Many companies prefer this option rather than maintaining their own IT department because it enables them to focus on their core competencies.

Managed Services and HIPAA

In healthcare, MSPs play a vital role in maintaining HIPAA compliance. They do so through managing:

• Encryption. Sometimes, PHI must be sent electronically, and MSPs provide the know-how to minimize the risk of interception.
• Access controls. Implementing access protocols, such as multifactor authentication and role-based access, helps keep stored data protected from unauthorized parties.
• 24/7 monitoring. Cyberattacks can happen at any time, and MSPs will be there to thwart them. By providing round-the-clock security monitoring, MSPs can respond to ransomware and access attempts promptly.
• Risk assessments. MSPs regularly test network security by performing risk assessments. This allows them to identify potential vulnerabilities in advance, so they can correct them before they’re ever exploited.
• Training. MSPs keep your staff informed on how to protect sensitive data and remain compliant with HIPAA regulations. This includes learning how to recognize common scams, such as phishing, and how to minimize the risk of human error.

Cost-Saving Impacts

Partnering with MSPs can reduce costs for healthcare facilities in several ways. The most obvious is reducing the need for keeping an IT department on payroll. This also eliminates the cost of onboarding and training, and can reduce administrative overhead.

Beyond that, MSPs provide access to cutting-edge healthcare security tools and advanced platforms at a fraction of the cost. Subscriptions and purchase fees can add up quickly, but they’re bundled into the flat fee paid to the MSP. Because an MSP manages multiple clients at the same time, each is able to benefit from the cost advantages that come with purchasing at scale.

Keep in mind that HIPAA violations often come with costly penalties. MSPs that specialize in the HIPAA-compliant services, know how to operate in accordance with HIPAA while minimizing the risk of a breach.

Why Choose Solid Technology

Solid Technology excels at providing robust, HIPAA-compliant managed services to healthcare facilities. From building secure networks to ensuring your team is trained in up-to-date risk mitigation strategies, we create comprehensive safeguarding measures for your patients’ ePHI/PPI.

Let our team focus on your technology needs, so you can focus on providing compassionate, high-quality healthcare to your patients. We apply our diverse industry experience to a client-centric approach so you know you’re getting tailored cybersecurity services you can count on.