HIPAA-Compliant Cloud Storage
Cloud computing has completely changed how businesses establish themselves as leaders in the competitive market. Using a cloud provider – to handle and access technology services on an on-demand basis – is a brilliant strategy to scale onto their saturated markets effectively with cost savings.
The need for cloud computing
Is your business needing a cost-effective solution for easy scalability, durability, accessibility, and elasticity?
With cloud computing, your business can race with all major players in the healthcare industry. Now, your software will help providers and availers access their sensitive healthcare data and technology from anywhere, anytime.
The highly efficient cloud computing system inadvertently leads to the question, how do we safeguard such sensitive and valuable data when it is accessible online? This is where the concept of cloud storage forays in the context of cloud computing.
This blog is a short overview of HIPAA compliance in cloud storage and a competitive list of the top 5 cloud storage providers compatible with the rules and regulations of HIPAA.
Does my organization need to comply with HIPAA?
Any company starting to create a mark on the healthcare industry must be well acquainted with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). This federal law has been the primary tool since 1996 to ensure that all organizations maintain the principle that Confidentiality is God.
HIPAA is a trusted friend if you are setting up a healthcare business. As someone in the SaaS business, if your organization has incorporated technology to assist hospitals and clinics in building their online patient care portals, you must implement security measures to comply with HIPAA rules and standards.
How to know if my organization is HIPAA-compliant?
Every organization handling sensitive protected data has to have a HIPAA compliance program instilled into the core process. According to the Compliancy Group, an effective compliance program consists of several elements:
- Implementing written policies, procedures, and standards of conduct.
- Designating a compliance officer and compliance committee.
- Conducting effective training and education.
- Developing effective lines of communication.
- Conducting internal monitoring and auditing.
- Enforcing standards through well-publicized disciplinary guidelines.
- Responding promptly to detected offenses and undertaking corrective action.
The urgency behind cloud storage being HIPAA certified
A cloud storage provider secures, administers, and maintains the storage servers, infrastructure, and network. When it comes to the field of healthcare, the patient data handled is highly sensitive. The inability to protect such data, i.e. a breach of confidentiality, would lead to severe consequences, such as paying hefty fines and facing legal action. This will ultimately create a gap and loss of trust between patients and healthcare providers.
Thus, HIPAA compliance is vital to maintain patient data confidentiality and integrity. As a result, data classification, encryption, access controls, audit trails, and backup and recovery protocols are installed to ensure the highest level of privacy and security.
What is HIPAA-compliant cloud storage? A massive solution to an active landmine
Cloud storage is a cloud computing model that stores data and files online, accessible via the public or any dedicated private network. The market is saturated with highly functional cloud storage providers. However, despite that, not all of them are HIPAA-compliant.
Cloud storage that complies with HIPAA rules and regulations follows strict mandates to protect sensitive patient data. Thus, suitable administrative, physical, and technological safeguards or standards are in place that help maintain patient confidentiality.
Ensuring HIPAA Compliance in Cloud Storage
Cloud storage should be in sync with the four primary directives-privacy, security, data breach notification, and enforcement to be HIPAA-compliant. Thus, before using the first cloud-based platform, you, as a healthcare software solution or healthcare provider either, need to uphold and enforce certain protocols that include:
- Risk analysis
A risk analysis helps identify gaps in the security program. Identification of potential security risks to business operations and upholding necessary safeguards to mitigate those risks is the primary aim of companies.
- Data classification
Based on sensitivity and business impact, stored data should be classified into relevant categories. This is done to identify risks and assimilate information on the sensitive data that requires more layers of protection.
- Data encryption
Data stored in the cloud should be encrypted using a secure protocol such as SSL or TLS, both in transit and at rest. Strong encryption algorithms must be used to encrypt all data on cloud storage.
- Access control
Healthcare software companies must implement role-based access control. This security rule helps limit access to ePHI based on a user’s job profile and responsibilities. Implementing two-factor authentication (2FA) further secures the accessibility to sensitive patient care data.
- Business Associate Agreement (BAA)
Cloud providers must issue BAAs to their users. These agreements govern the relationship between a HIPAA-covered entity and the service provider. It ensures that all required safeguards are in place to secure highly sensitive ePHI. Thus, the agreement must be in place before any PHI is uploaded, stored, or used.
Only after all the above-mentioned steps have been completed can a cloud storage platform be treated as HIPAA-compliant, and your organization can now begin uploading ePHI to the cloud.
Choosing the right HIPAA-compliant cloud storage solution
Choosing the right cloud storage partner can be a daunting task. As a decision-maker in a healthcare software development company, there are several elements to consider while selecting the right cloud storage.
All possible horses running in the race should be completely HIPAA compliant and should offer a BAA. Secondly, each provider’s features and capabilities determine the best fit for your requirements. Thirdly, the pricing model and extra costs, such as data transfer or storage fees, need to be considered.
Top 3 major players in the HIPAA-Compliant cloud storage market
It’s important to note that many HIPAA-compliant cloud storage solutions exist, but these five are the most popular and widely used.
- Google Cloud
Google is a major player in any form of cloud services. Google’s Cloud Platform(GCP) offers brief stockpiling and constant circles. For Object stockpiling, GCP has Google Cloud Storage.
The entire G-suite is a HIPAA-compliant platform and encourages users to implement best practices such as identity and authorized access, management, high-level encryption, version and access controls, audit logs, etc.
Google maintains a wide range of industry-standard audits and certificates conducted by third parties to encourage HIPAA compliance.
- Amazon Web Services (AWS)
AWS is one of the most popular cloud storage solutions on the market. Amazon takes extra care to ensure its protocols comply with HIPAA standards.
AWS provides apportioned, transient (brief) stockpiling. It also offers a wide range of services, such as Amazon S3, Amazon Glacier, and Amazon EFS, and has implemented strict security measures to protect sensitive data.
- Microsoft Azure
Microsoft is a popular cloud service provider that offers HIPAA-compliant services to healthcare companies. BAAs extended are also compliant with the rules of HIPAA and help ensure a proper system to manage the confidentiality of sensitive patient healthcare data.
Azure uses transient capacity ID drives. Page Blobs VM-based volumes are stored in Block Storage (Microsoft’s choice), while Object Storage uses Square Blobs and Files.
Azure’s HIPAA-compliant security protocols protect sensitive data through tough encryption methods and SSI/TLS connections. Additionally, Microsoft demands that all its vendors uphold the same HIPAA-compliant standards and restrictions regarding HIPAA.
Conclusion
HIPAA-compliant cloud storage is critical for healthcare organizations and software companies to safeguard sensitive patient data while adhering to federal regulations. There are multiple HIPAA-compliant cloud storage providers in the competitive market. However, selecting can be a tough call for healthcare organizations. Thus, each provider’s features and capabilities must be carefully evaluated to meet your organization’s and customers’ demands.
