HIPAA Compliance vs ISO 27001

While HIPAA is a law that covered entities who handle protected health information must adhere to, and ISO is a voluntary framework, compliance with both the HIPAA law and ISO 27001 may be required – say, when a cyber insurance carrier or other insurance plan requires that a covered entity provider obtain ISO certification as part of an insurance contract. Attempting to meet the HIPAA regulations and obtain ISO 27001 certification can overwhelm healthcare organizations. 

Let’s examine the differences and similarities between HIPAA compliance vs. ISO 27001 and consider how you can simplify your approach to compliance.

What Is HIPAA and Why Is It Essential?

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) established national standards for covered entities (healthcare providers, health plans, and healthcare clearinghouses) to safeguard the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of electronic protected health information (ePHI). HIPAA compliance helps organizations avoid legal penalties and is part of an overall healthcare compliance program that includes measures to detect, report, and correct fraud, waste, and abuse. 

HIPAA is a complementary framework to ISO 27001, ensuring that health information is kept secure and confidential.

Understanding What ISO 27001 Is and Why It’s Essential
The International Organization for Security (ISO) 27001 sets guidelines for effective information security management systems. An organization with a robust information security management system is well-positioned to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and accountability of ePHI, as required by the HIPAA Security Rule.

ISO 27001 contains requirements for:

• Organizational controls (e.g., policies and procedures, information classification, identity management, authentication information, access controls, and access rights)
• Physical controls
• People controls
• Technological controls
• Accessing and managing risk
• Monitoring data use, storage, sharing, and disposal
• Ensuring the confidentiality of patient data

If implemented properly, these measures can prevent unauthorized access to, disclosure of, and misuse of protected health information (PHI) and other sensitive data.

The 93 security controls within ISO 27001 overlap with many of the requirements of HIPAA, which is beneficial for HIPAA-covered entities that must obtain ISO certification.

An organization regulated by HIPAA can assess whether it would benefit from ISO certification by assessing its specific area of operations and the types of data it handles.

Assessing the Similarities Between HIPAA Compliance vs ISO 27001

When comparing HIPAA compliance vs ISO 27001, it’s essential to recognize the substantial overlap between HIPAA and the ISO 27001 framework/standard. Both have a common goal: to protect sensitive information. Their similarities don’t end there.

Consider some of the key similarities between HIPAA and ISO 27001:

Access Controls: Controlling access to sensitive information is another area where HIPAA and ISO 27001 closely align. HIPAA and the ISO 27001 standard/framework require organizations to implement access controls to ensure that only those who require access can access sensitive data and information. Access can be controlled by requiring multi-factor authentication and determining what types of information someone should have access to based on their role.  

Incident Response Tactics: With incident responses, too, there are similarities between HIPAA and ISO 27001. Both require businesses to establish a process for incident management to aid in detecting and reporting security incidents. This also helps minimize the impact of such incidents. 

Ongoing Monitoring: Both frameworks also require organizations to conduct continuous monitoring to remain in compliance. For example, ISO 27001 generally requires that businesses conduct at least annual management review of information security management systems. HIPAA and the ISO 27001 framework both require security monitoring and training. Having these measures in place helps businesses remain compliant even as certain threats arise or changes within the industry occur.

Leveraging Compliance Software for HIPAA ISO 27001 Mapping

Given the complexities involved in an ISO 27001 HIPAA crosswalk and meeting both HIPAA and ISO 27001 requirements, leveraging the right compliance software can make a significant difference. The right software solution will offer features like controls that are cross-mapped to both HIPAA and ISO, enabling you to better streamline your compliance efforts. By using software that automatically maps to these standards, you can monitor and manage your compliance more efficiently, ensuring that no critical security measures are overlooked.

Maintaining HIPAA and ISO compliance can be difficult without the right safeguards in place. Using the right software will provide you with:

• Streamlined documentation management
• Better operational security
• Enhanced risk management
• Reduction in costs due to an increase in cyber resilience
• Prevention of certain penalties

In addition, using compliance software with a crossmapping feature throughout your compliance efforts will cut down on redundancies. When you answer a control question or requirement, the system can apply the answer to frameworks (e.g., ISO) and standards (e.g., HIPAA) that the control maps to. This process avoids redundancy and saves time. Compliance software that contains an ISO 27001 HIPAA crosswalk mapping functionality uncomplicates the process of having to comply both with HIPAA and ISO 27001. 

Using Compliance Software to Keep Up With Compliance

HIPAA ISO 27001 mapping ensures that an organization’s information security programs are satisfying the requirements of both HIPAA and ISO 27001. This type of integration streamlines the way you approach compliance and also enhances the levels of security in your practice.