HIPAA eCommerce

HIPAA Compliant eCommerce Integration

Updated  |  4 min read
Key Takeaways
  • HIPAA-compliant eCommerce integration refers to the process of integrating electronic commerce (eCommerce) platforms with systems that comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
  • When hiring HIPAA experts to integrate eCommerce with HIPAA-compliant systems, it is crucial to ensure that patient health information remains secure and confidential. This involves implementing robust security measures such as encryption, access controls, and data backup protocols.
  • HIPAA compliance also requires adherence to HIPAA's strict privacy and security regulations, including the use of business associate agreements (BAAs) and regular risk assessments.
  • A HIPAA-compliant eCommerce integration can enable healthcare organizations to sell medical products and services online while maintaining compliance with HIPAA regulations.

Maintaining HIPAA Compliance within eCommerce Integrations

If your eCommerce website deals with people's personal protected health information (PHI), it's essential for your online store to be HIPAA compliant. While dealing with PHI, you must emphasize the security and protection of data. Your site needs to be a HIPAA-compliant website to stop others from accessing your customer's personal information.

There can be quite a long number of things that need to be done, which is why it's important to make use of HIPAA consulting services. While there is no governing body that can make your website "HIPAA Certified" to be compliant, it's possible to implement a HIPAA compliance program to ensure you are obeying current laws.

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When looking for HIPAA compliance services, it's recommended that you talk to an expert who has designed, assembled, and delivered a significant number of HIPAA-compliant websites, HIPAA-compliant eCommerce stores, doctor-patient portals, mobile healthcare apps, online pharmacies, and other platforms for healthcare. Working with HIPAA compliance experts is the easiest way to improve your security awareness.

 
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How HIPAA Offers Better Security

Before the HIPAA Security Rule came along in 1996, there wasn't an accepted set of security standards or general requirements for protecting health information present in the healthcare business.

When new technologies and digitized records, healthcare providers have said goodbye to overwhelming paper processes and shifted to the use of electronic information systems for patient intake, answering questions, providing health information, and performing a long list of other administrative and clinical functions.

HIPAA Compliant Solution - Medical Development

Improving Efficiency

Today, the healthcare industry is using medical applications such as computerized physician order entry (CPOE) systems, electronic health records (EHR), pharmacy, radiology, and laboratory systems. Health plans are giving access to claims and care management staff, along with the member self-service applications.

This has helped in making the medical workforce more moveable and efficient. For example, physicians can check patient records and test results from anywhere they are. However, the rapid adoption of these technologies has also increased the potential risks to security.

Privacy Protection

A primary goal of the Security Rule of HIPAA eCommerce integration is to protect the privacy of individuals' personal health information and have every healthcare organization implement new technologies to expand the quality and efficiency of patient care on the other hand.

Considering such a diverse healthcare marketplace, the security rules aspect of HIPAA compliance is designed in a way to make them flexible and scalable so a protected entity can implement policies, measures, and technologies that are appropriate for the particular size of the unit, administrative structure, and risks to information of consumers. It's also vital that you invest in HIPAA hosting of your website.

HIPAA eCommerce Data Encryption

Having all of your data encrypted is one of the essential requirements of a HIPAA-compliant website. Therefore, to keep people's PHI private and secure and avoid a data breach, all the transmitted, archived, and stored data must be encrypted. Consider taking it a step further and encrypting the data HIPAA-compliant database software, which will help you increase the safety of your customer's personal health information.

HIPAA has numerous policies to confirm data protection during the procedure of transfer, removal, discarding, and reuse limits of electronic media covering PHI (ePHI), emergency access procedures, and access control with the help of encryption and decryption, among others. Every healthcare provider, medical device manufacturer, and e-pharmacy must adhere to these rules.

Password Protection

The importance of password protection is one of the most important parts of a HIPAA compliance program. Still, with HIPAA, you need to modify the passwords of your administrators and users regularly to keep your data protected appropriately. If you fail to update or change the passwords regularly, you're not keeping up with compliance regulations.

Full Data Backup

Once you receive information from your customer, this needs to be stored and encrypted as well. Essentially, only one person can see the information submitted to your site, and that is the user itself. If there is a clear or noticeable error in your backup storage security, HIPAA regulatory standards are not being kept. HIPAA compliance services can help you back your data up. HIPAA-compliant cloud storage is a must in such a situation.

Authentication

A HIPAA consulting services firm will also task you with limiting access via authentication. You can use an authentication process that will help you to keep your website secure and compliant with HIPAA standards. By necessitating authentication credentials, no one else will be able to access the data.

HIPAA SSL Certification

Another essential for HIPAA compliance is a Secure Socket Layer (SSL). Purchasing a certificate is required to fulfill the HIPAA SSL requirements. SSL adds a layer of protection to your HIPAA-compliant website that permits you to transmit private information securely from your site or portal to an authorized address. A HIPAA compliance program will ensure your website passes all of its transmission over SSL to make sure that customers' private information remains confidential and safe.

User Access Logging

If someone accesses the data records containing private personal information, access to data needs to be recorded. Most security programs, including firewalls, can automatically track who accessed the data and when and if they had made changes to the data or not. This access tracking feature helps you trace the number of people who have seen the information and who may have changed it. The breach in the system can also help a cyber security team determine who breached it and when it occurred.

Minimizing Availibity of Data

One of the most effective ways to secure data is through the process of tokenization. Tokenization is the process of replacing private information with unique symbols or numbers that are dissimilar to the original information. This technique allows businesses to store confidential information while keeping it secure.

For example, if hackers try to breach your system, it will be very difficult for them to decrypt any information. Tokenization is widely used in the payment card industry, where it is used to secure credit card information.

How Can Clarity Help with HIPAA Compliance?

Clarity has developed some of the best HIPAA-compliant websites and patient portals available. Any health organization can face issues with HIPAA responsibilities when they start their digital journey. These problems can be overcome by working with HIPAA experts who have extensive experience in the field. Clarity's HIPAA compliance services include:

  • HIPAA Complaint Website
  • HIPAA Compliant eCommerce integration
  • HIPAA Security and Privacy Rules
  • HIPAA Compliance Requirements
  • HIPAA Technical Safeguards
  • HIPAA Compliance Certification
  • HIPAA Password Requirements
  • HIPAA Compliant App Development

Visit Clarity's HIPAA complaint website services today!

FAQ

 

A HIPAA expert is a professional who has extensive knowledge and experience in the regulations and requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Such experts often work for a HIPAA consulting services firm.

HIPAA experts can provide guidance on implementing policies and procedures, conducting risk assessments, and training employees on HIPAA compliance. They can also assist in responding to and reporting data breaches and can represent organizations during audits and investigations by the Department of Health and Human Services.

 

HIPAA compliance refers to the adherence of covered entities and business associates to the regulations set forth in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).

The HIPAA Privacy Rule establishes national standards to protect individuals' medical records and other personal health information (PHI). The Security Rule sets standards for the security of electronic PHI. HIPAA compliance means that an organization has implemented policies and procedures to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of PHI.

 

HIPAA is enforced by the Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights (OCR). The OCR is responsible for investigating complaints and enforcing HIPAA's Privacy Rule, Security Rule, and Breach Notification Rule.

Covered entities and business associates that violate HIPAA regulations may be subject to fines and penalties. The OCR also provides guidance and resources to help covered entities and business associates comply with HIPAA regulations. In order to adhere to HIPAA standards, many companies enlist the services of HIPAA compliance consultants.

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Stephen Beer is a Content Writer at Clarity Ventures and has written about various tech industries for nearly a decade. He is determined to demystify HIPAA, integration, enterpise SEO, and eCommerce with easy-to-read, easy-to-understand articles to help businesses make the best decisions.