What makes an MSP HIPAA-compliant? A HIPAA-compliant MSP meets the technical, administrative, and physical safeguard requirements of the HIPAA Security Rule for all ePHI they handle, signs a Business Associate Agreement before accessing patient data, and can demonstrate compliance through documented policies, audit logs, and third-party certifications like SOC 2 Type II. Healthcare organizations handle … Read more
What is an SRA in healthcare? A Security Risk Assessment (SRA) in healthcare is a mandatory HIPAA evaluation of risks to electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI). It identifies where ePHI is stored and transmitted, assesses threats and vulnerabilities, evaluates existing safeguards, assigns risk levels, and produces a prioritized remediation plan. The HIPAA Security Rule requires … Read more
Why the SRA Requirement Is Non-Negotiable for Healthcare Providers How do you choose an SRA provider for a healthcare organization? Choosing an SRA provider for healthcare requires evaluating five criteria: healthcare-specific expertise including familiarity with EHR platforms and clinical workflows, a comprehensive methodology covering HIPAA’s three safeguard categories, clear reporting that produces actionable findings not … Read more
What is IT risk management in healthcare? IT risk management in healthcare is the practice of identifying, prioritizing, and mitigating the operational security gaps that arise from day-to-day IT support decisions. It includes access control enforcement, patch management, device security, incident response readiness, and audit log monitoring, all applied to clinical environments where a security … Read more
What does a HIPAA compliance checklist cover? A HIPAA compliance checklist covers the three safeguard categories of the HIPAA Security Rule: administrative safeguards (risk assessments, policies, training, BAAs), physical safeguards (facility access, device security, hardware disposal), and technical safeguards (encryption, access controls, audit logs, incident response). It also covers documentation requirements OCR expects during audits … Read more
If you oversee operations or technology in a senior living community, you already know IT isn’t just a line item, it’s a foundation. From EHR systems and nurse call platforms to cybersecurity and resident-facing WiFi, technology runs through every part of care delivery. But as tech demands grow, so do costs, and so does the … Read more
Why does HIPAA compliance look different for behavioral health practices? Behavioral health records carry a layer of sensitivity general medical records don’t: therapy notes, diagnoses, and substance use history that patients often consider more private than a broken bone or a blood test. HIPAA still applies, but the standard for protecting it is higher in … Read more
Your last security risk assessment told you the truth about your network as it existed on the day someone ran it. Every day since, that report has gotten a little less accurate, and nobody sends a notification when it finally stops being useful. Annual security risk assessments for senior living means repeating a formal security … Read more
An auditor doesn’t walk in and ask if you care about resident privacy. They ask for the access log from March, and then they check whether it matches what your policy says should be happening. That gap, between what’s written down and what’s actually running, is where most communities lose points, not because they’re careless, … Read more
What are co-managed IT services for healthcare? Co-managed IT services for healthcare is a model where an organization’s internal IT staff partners with an external provider to share responsibility for security, compliance, monitoring, and clinical system support. The internal team retains ownership of clinical workflows and institutional knowledge while the external partner contributes specialized depth … Read more
