Making a HIPAA-compliant website doesn’t have to mean rebuilding your existing website from scratch or paying for expensive web hosting. Whether you’re working with a small medical office or a large practice, you can meet compliance requirements by focusing on the parts of the site that specifically handle Protected Health Information (PHI). From patient intake forms to appointment scheduling, there are simple, cost effective solutions that ensure these key areas stay secure without the need for complex overhauls.
In this guide, we’ll go over some of the website components that are required to be HIPAA compliant, focusing on what matters most and helping you to stay efficient and on budget.
A Fully HIPAA Compliant Website Requires Specialized Hosting
Traditional HIPAA compliance for an entire website involves hosting the website in a secure environment and strictly adhering to the guidelines established by HIPAA. HIPAA-compliant web hosting is often expensive and complex, including encryption protocols, access control measures, and secure servers to ensure the security of PHI. While HIPAA-compliant web hosting guarantees that every aspect of the website is protected, it can be an expensive and time-consuming to manage the website using these web hosting services. Additionally, if you’re providing support for multiple websites and only one requires HIPAA compliance, it’s inefficient to have your websites split between compliant and non-compliant web hosting platforms.
However, not every part of a website needs to be HIPAA-compliant, and focusing on the parts that do require compliance can prevent you from needing to rebuild your website on a HIPAA-compliant web hosting platform.
Focus on Specific Parts of the Website for Compliance
Picture the website for your local dental office. Standard pages on that website include informational pages, their locations and hours of operation, and maybe a page introducing you to their dental team – none of these pages need to comply with HIPAA regulations, as they’re not collecting, transmitting, or storing any form of PHI. However, the online forms and payment systems the dental office uses on their website would require HIPAA compliance.
Now, the entire website could be moved to a HIPAA-compliant web hosting platform, but it would be more efficient to focus on the parts of the website that require HIPAA compliance.
Determining Where HIPAA Compliance is Needed
So then, which parts of the dental office’s website need to be HIPAA compliant? The answer is any part of the website that collects, transmits, or stores any form of PHI. Fortunately, there are third-party solutions available that allow you to directly embed HIPAA-compliant versions of any website component that interacts with PHI. That means you don’t have to rebuild your website from the ground up or switch to a HIPAA-compliant web hosting service. Instead, you can use ready-to-use SaaS solutions to target the parts of your website that require HIPAA compliance – for example, HIPAAtizer or HIPAA Forms Online if you work with WordPress or Wix.
Parts of a healthcare website that commonly collect, transmit, or store any form of PHI include:
- Online patient intake forms
- Medical questionnaires
- Consent forms
- Payment processing systems
- Contact forms
- Appointment scheduling
- Contact Us form
- And more!
Finding the Solution That’s Right for You
If a part of your website collects, transmits, or stores PHI, it’s safe to assume that part requires HIPAA compliance. Instead of rebuilding your website to host sensitive PHI yourself, seek out third-party services that provide HIPAA-compliant solutions for the parts that need it.
When you’re deciding on a third-party solution, there are a few things to keep in mind:
- BAA: Any third-party solution you choose to do business with must provide you with a Business Associate Agreement (BAA). This agreement is essential for meeting HIPAA compliance requirements and safeguarding patient data.
- Fits your system: Third-party solutions shouldn’t disrupt the established rhythm of your internal systems. They are meant to provide solutions, not cause problems.
- Matches your branding: While this part isn’t required for compliance, it’s still important to keep your branding in mind. Any third-party solutions implemented should reflect your practice’s look and feel.
At the end of the day, making a HIPAA-compliant website doesn’t have to break the bank, and it doesn’t always require the work that goes into rebuilding a website. You’re not alone when it comes to compliance – search for the right third-party solution that is ready to help handle the workload.
Article contributed by HIPAAtizer. They work with independent medical offices, dentists, therapists and mental health care professionals, and other healthcare providers to offer a safe and easy to use form builder.
