The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a U.S. federal law that sets national standards for protecting Protected Health Information (PHI), requiring covered entities to implement administrative, physical, and technical safeguards.
HIPAA requires covered entities, meaning healthcare providers, payers, and their business associates, to protect Protected Health Information through administrative, physical, and technical safeguards. Compliance means implementing access controls, audit logging, encryption in transit, and workforce training, plus periodic risk assessments to confirm those safeguards remain effective.
Key Takeaways
- PHI stands for Protected Health Information, not Public Health Information, and covers any individually identifiable health data a covered entity creates, receives, maintains, or transmits.
- Covered entities include anyone providing treatment, handling payments, or supporting healthcare operations, along with their business associates and subcontractors.
- HIPAA’s Security Rule organizes requirements into three categories: physical, administrative, and technical safeguards.
- Technical safeguards require access control, audit controls, integrity controls, and transmission security for electronic PHI (e-PHI).
- A designated security official must own the implementation of an organization’s HIPAA security policies and procedures.
Who counts as a HIPAA covered entity?
A covered entity is anyone providing treatment, accepting payment, or operating in healthcare, along with their business associates. This includes hospitals, insurers, billing companies, and any vendor that processes PHI on a covered entity’s behalf, all of whom must independently maintain HIPAA compliance.
What physical safeguards does HIPAA require?
- Facility access and control: limit physical access to facilities while ensuring authorized personnel can still get in.
- Workstation and device security: govern proper use of workstations and electronic media, plus policies for the transfer, removal, disposal, and reuse of that media.
What administrative safeguards does HIPAA require?
- Security management process: identify and analyze risks to PHI, then implement measures that reduce them to a reasonable level.
- Security personnel: designate an official responsible for developing and implementing security policies.
- Information access management: authorize PHI access only when appropriate to a person’s role.
- Workforce training: supervise and train anyone who works with PHI.
- Evaluation: periodically assess how well policies meet the Security Rule’s requirements.
What technical safeguards does HIPAA require?
| Safeguard | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Access control | Only authorized persons can access electronic PHI (e-PHI) |
| Audit controls | Hardware, software, or procedural mechanisms record and examine e-PHI access |
| Integrity controls | Policies confirm e-PHI has not been improperly altered or destroyed |
| Transmission security | Technical measures guard e-PHI in transit over an electronic network, typically via TLS encryption |
How Encryption Consulting Helps
Encryption Consulting’s Compliance Advisory Services and Cloud Data Protection Services help covered entities and business associates encrypt PHI at rest and in transit, enforce access controls, and document the technical safeguards HIPAA’s Security Rule requires. Backed by ISO/IEC 27001:2022 and SOC 2 certified practices.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does PHI stand for?
PHI stands for Protected Health Information: individually identifiable health data that a covered entity or business associate creates, receives, maintains, or transmits. HIPAA’s Privacy Rule provides federal protection for this data while still permitting disclosures needed for treatment and other authorized purposes.
Who has to comply with HIPAA?
Covered entities, meaning anyone providing treatment, handling payments, or supporting healthcare operations, must comply with HIPAA, along with their business associates and any subcontractors those associates use. You can confirm covered entity status through CMS’s official guidance.
What are HIPAA’s three categories of safeguards?
HIPAA’s Security Rule organizes requirements into physical safeguards (facility and device security), administrative safeguards (risk management and workforce training), and technical safeguards (access control, audit controls, integrity controls, and transmission security).
Does HIPAA require encryption?
HIPAA’s Security Rule requires transmission security to guard e-PHI over an electronic network, and encryption is the standard way organizations satisfy that requirement, though HIPAA treats it as an addressable rather than a strictly mandated technical specification, meaning it must be implemented unless a documented equivalent alternative is in place.
Protect PHI Across Your Organization
Take the next step
Encryption Consulting helps healthcare organizations and business associates encrypt PHI at rest and in transit and document the safeguards HIPAA’s Security Rule requires. Simplify your compliance path with Compliance Advisory Services.