Connect Ideal & HIPAA

What is HIPAA?

HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability And Accountability Act of 1996, which is a United States legislation that provides data privacy and security provisions for safeguarding medical information. 

The act, which was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on Aug. 21, 1996, contains five sections, or titles: 

  • Title I: HIPAA Health Insurance Reform
  • Title II: HIPAA Administrative Simplification
  • Title III: HIPAA Tax-Related Health Provisions
  • Title IV: Application and Enforcement of Group Health Plan Requirements
  • Title V: Revenue Offsets

In context of online marketing, adhering to HIPAA Title II is what most people mean when they refer to HIPAA compliance.

HIPAA Title II

Also known as the Administrative Simplification provisions, Title II includes the following HIPAA compliance requirements:

  • National Provider Identifier Standard. Each healthcare entity, including individuals, employers, health plans and healthcare providers, must have a unique 10-digit national provider identifier number, or NPI.

  • Transactions and Code Sets Standard. Healthcare organizations must follow a standardized mechanism for electronic data interchange (EDI) in order to submit and process insurance claims.

  • HIPAA Privacy Rule. Officially known as the Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information, this rule establishes national standards to protect patient health information.

  • HIPAA Security Rule. The Security Standards for the Protection of Electronic Protected Health Information sets standards for patient data security.

  • HIPAA Enforcement Rule. This rule establishes guidelines for investigations into HIPAA compliance violations.

The two requirements that apply to the relationship between Connect Ideal, a customer Agency, and the agency’s client (the Practice) are the HIPAA Privacy Rule and the HIPPA Security Rule. The details of each of these rules can be found here: 

Connect Ideal Compliance

In the relationship between Connect Ideal, a customer Agency, and the agency’s client (the Practice); the Practice is considered “the HIPAA covered entity” and Connect Ideal and the Agency are considered “HIPAA Business Associates”. 

Connect Ideal has worked with The Compliancy Group consultancy to ensure that we are in full compliance with the HIPAA Privacy Rule and the HIPPA Security Rule, so that we can enter into HIPAA Business Associate Agreements (BAA) with our customer Agencies. 

In order for the personal health record data of your client Practice’s patients to be completely protected, however; your Agency must also be in full compliance with HIPAA Title II so that you can provide your client Practice with a HIPAA Business Associate Agreements as well. 

Please reach out to us if you would like the contact information of The Compliancy Group who can help you ensure that your Agency is fully compliant. 

Security 

Our database automatically encrypts all data before it is written to disk. There is no setup or configuration required and no need to modify the way you access the service. The data is automatically and transparently decrypted when read by an authorized user.

With server-side encryption, Google manages the cryptographic keys on your behalf using the same hardened key management systems that we use for our own encrypted data, including strict key access controls and auditing. Each database object’s data and metadata is encrypted under the 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard, and each encryption key is itself encrypted with a regularly rotated set of master keys.