Are you conscious of GDPR compliance regulations? If not, it’s fine, it can be intimidating since GDPR is a tangled and continually evolving law. It’s all about protection of data that gives customers the ability to control their personal data and ensuring secure storage of all digital data. It doesn’t matter if you are just starting to understand GDPR or are looking to learn more about the requirements for companies around the world.

HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and GDPR (Global Data Protection Regulations) are two abbreviations that healthcare professionals and companies that handle personal data should be familiar with. HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) is an US law that regulates the disclosure and use of a patient’s personal health information. GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is a regulation by the European Union (EU) that covers all businesses that handle personal data of EU residents. These regulations vary in scope however they share the same purpose to protect personal data security and privacy.

The reason HIPAA and GDPR Compliance are Important

HIPAA compliance as well as GDPR compliance is essential for many reasons. It protects sensitive data against improper access, disclosure or misuse. For example, healthcare providers deal with sensitive medical information that could be used to perpetrate identity theft or fraud. Businesses handling personal data like names, addresses, email addresses, and other data which could lead to identity fraud, scams, or phishing are liable to the GDPR.

Second, these regulations must be followed. HIPAA regulations are applicable to healthcare providers, healthcare plans as well as healthcare clearinghouses. Failure to comply with HIPAA regulations can lead to criminal or civil penalties and the damage to a healthcare provider’s reputation. Similar to GDPR, it applies to all businesses that handle personal data of EU residents regardless of their place of operation. Non-compliance can result in hefty penalties and legal action.

In the end, ensuring compliance with these laws can help to create trust among patients and clients. Customers and patients want their personal data to be handled with care and confidentiality. Compliance with HIPAA and GDPR regulations can be a sign that a business is taking data privacy and security seriously and is committed to safeguarding personal information.

HIPAA and GDPR Compliance Important Requirements

It is important for businesses to be aware that HIPAA regulations and GDPR regulations include a variety of rules. For HIPAA covered entities, covered entities must guarantee the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of protected health information electronically (ePHI). This requires implementing administrative physical and technological safeguards that protect ePHI against misuse, access, or disclosure. Additionally, covered entities need to have policies and procedures that address the possibility of security breaches and security incidents.

Companies must obtain explicit consent from individuals to collect and use their personal data in accordance with GDPR. Consent must be freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous. GDPR also requires companies to give individuals the right to access, rectify, and erase their personal information. To safeguard personal information businesses need to take the appropriate measures to protect their organization and technology.

HIPAA and GDPR Compliance Best Practices

Businesses must follow best practices to ensure compliance with HIPAA/GDPR rules. Here are some guidelines:

Conducting risk assessments: Companies need to evaluate regularly the risks in the security, integrity and accessibility of personal information. This will allow you to identify the weaknesses and set up appropriate security measures.

Implementing access controls: Organizations must restrict access to personal data to individuals who have been authorized. This could include strong passwords and multi-factor authentication. Access controls should be based on the least privilege.

Training employees: Employees should be taught about data privacy. This could help to prevent accidental and deliberate data security breaches.

Incident response plans must be put in place by companies in order to prevent security breaches as well as incidents. This could include the identification of a response team setting up communication protocols and organizing regular exercises.

Businesses that handle personal data are required to adhere to HIPAA compliance as well as GDPR. These regulations protect sensitive data from disclosure and access that is not authorized and abuse and demonstrate that they are committed to protecting data and privacy. Businesses can comply with the regulations by adopting the best practices such as conducting risk assessments, setting up access controls, educating employees, and implementing incident response plans.

For more information, click HIPAA and GDPR compliance