In today’s digital world, keeping client’s data and sensitive information safe is more important than ever. Nowhere is this more true than in the medical profession and in health organizations. Keeping data secure, complying with HIPAA, and keeping up to date on all the other information security protocols is a top concern. However, this is a difficult task and can seem like a moving target at times. That is where HITRUST comes in. An organization that has been around since 2007 that works to create the highest industry standard framework for healthcare data security. Here are 4 things every health organization should know about HITRUST.
1. What is HITRUST?
The Health Information Trust Alliance (HITRUST), is an organization that created and supports the Common Security Framework (CSF). This is a certifiable framework that brings together several compliance frameworks and standards including ISO, NIST, PCI, HIPAA, COBIT, and more. On the HITRUST website, they say that their organization and the CSF, “was born out of the belief that information security should be a core pillar of, rather than an obstacle to, the broad adoption of health information systems and exchanges.”
2. How it works
HITRUST allows for all your security compliance to be managed by one, not for profit organization and helps you meet and stay compliant for the good of your business and your clients and patients. They do this by taking multiple sets of globally recognized standards and harmonizing them so it is easy to meet them all in a much more simple process. They also help all businesses, no matter the type, size, or complexity of the organization find out the best way to implement the standards in their specific organization. They make the policies, processes, and procedures more clear to organizations while also allowing for alternate solutions if necessary. Finally, HITRUST also takes industry feedback and tries to address issues and continually make these rules and regulations better both for the people they serve and protect.
If you are interested in getting your company certified, Healthcare Weekly has a good article about the 4-step process that it takes to do so. They tell you everything you need to know about what you need to do on your own, in advance of your certification and the process you need to go through with the company when you are ready to get certified.
3. Who HITRUST is for
The short answer is, any health organization that is concerned with keeping their clients and patients records secure should be HITRUST certified. In addition to that, if your business is required to be compliant in any of the multiple areas that HITRUST covers, you should also be certified. The types of businesses that HITRUST is for includes but is not limited to:
- Hospitals
- Insurance companies
- Pharmacies
- Healthcare vendors
- Physician offices
- and more
If you fall under one of these categories of organizations that should be covered, Digital Authority Partners lays out everything you need to know to make a decision if HITRUST is right for your organization.
4. Benefits of HITRUST certification
HITRUST is all about keeping sensitive data safe and being compliant with all the regulations you need to be compliant with to run a business in medicine. It is not just for the organizations that make the rules and regulations though. As MY NEWSFIT lays out, there are a lot of benefits that come along with HITRUST that make it a good idea for all companies in the industry to become HITRUST certified. These reasons include:
- Less audit time
In any business, time is money. And, with HITRUST, your organization cuts down on audit time. Instead of having to deal with numerous requests from multiple agencies to audit your compliance in a number of fields, HITRUST keeps that all under one roof and streamlines the process. This leaves you more time to attend to your core business.
- Better security
HITRUST certified will keep your records safer and that is important for a number of reasons. In addition to the obvious reason that you would be exposing clients and patients’ sensitive information to the world, a data breach can hurt your businesses’ brand and cost you your reputation and money. Studies show that a single data breach costs a business’s hundreds of dollars per record lost meaning, if you are breached and expose hundreds or even thousands of records, you are looking at a huge amount of money to remedy it.
- Total compliance coverage
HITRUST is a one-stop-shop for compliance coverage. Instead of dealing with multiple agencies and multiple regulations, you can go to one place and be covered for ISO, NIST, COBIT, HIPAA, and PCI. It could take months to deal with all those agencies individually and you may miss something and find you are not totally compliant. HITRUST takes care of all that.
- Give you a powerful brand
They say that the best home security system is to have the security company sticker on your door. The same is true with having a HITRUST stamp of approval next to your company name. This lets people know you take privacy and security seriously and they can feel comfortable turning over their sensitive data to you.
- You’ll feel at ease
When you get HITRUST certified, you will be at peace knowing you are compliant and your data is protected. This is huge for people who own or run any kind of business. When you feel good about one piece of your business being all set, you will be better able to focus on the other important things you do every day.
Conclusion
Now you know 4 of the things that every health organization should know about HITRUST. It is a very good certification to have for many reasons and, although some find it tough to go through the certification process, most will tell you it was worth it and their health organization is better off for having it. If you do decide to become HITRUST certified, it is a great step to protect the data that matters most to your business.
