The cost of HIPAA-compliant software ranges from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars. The type of software, whether it transmits data or not, its complexity, the language you use, the database you use, your abilities, or whether you need to hire people, and the list of factors grows with each response to each of the previously listed points. The pricey aspect is custom-created software constructed for a specific purpose, not compliance. HIPAA compliance is just one of many factors to consider during the design process, and when taken into account early on, it doesn’t add much, if any, to the cost. If you’re dealing with patient data with names attached, your web app’s hosting may be more expensive, but the software engineering itself is no different than any other software.
The point is that you should design the entire solution like IT infrastructure, facilities, software, hardware, HR, etc., with the OCR Audit process in mind, and then pay for a third-party audit and attestation. The audit’s findings will reveal weaknesses and vulnerabilities across the entire system that must be addressed, and the audit is normally performed or advised once a year.
Factors that affect the HIPAA compliance cost
Several factors directly or indirectly affect the cost of HIPAA-compliant software while developing software.
- The company’s type:Depending on the type of organization, the amount of protected health information (PHI) and the level of risk can differ. Business associates, hospitals, medical centers, healthcare clearinghouses, health information exchange firms, and other forms of healthcare providers are among the organizations that must comply with HIPAA. Each will have different volumes of protected health information (PHI) and different levels of risk.
- The culture of your company:the culture of any company can have a significant impact on the HIPAA burden and expense of compliance. If data security is one of higher management’s top objectives, the company has most certainly already invested in a cybersecurity program. If management is hesitant to allocate funds to data security or fails to do so, the cost of HIPAA compliance may rise because there will be more sectors to catch up on.
- The environment in which your company operates:The type of computer, medical device, backend server model, firewall protections, and other factors can all add to the cost of HIPAA compliance software. If the hospital emphasized reducing patient mismatch, it is likely that a biometric patient id technology has already been established. Cost of HIPAA compliance software will be greatly reduced. If a patient mismatch is not taken into account, the expense of complying with HIPAA standards will be higher. Patient misidentification and mismatches can result in the incorrect filing of medical records, which can result in penalties as severe as any other infringement.
What to consider making sure cost of HIPAA-compliant software?
- Not every staff member requires access to PHI to do their duties. As a result, businesses must implement role-based access to patient health data. Organizations must describe the person who will deal with PHI and classify them into groups based on the amount of PHI they require access to. As a result, different access permissions should be developed for each group so that each employee only has access to the information they require.
- Limit session times in the system to prevent unauthorized users from accessing PHI. When a device is left unattended, this reduces the risk of someone gaining access to and stealing important information.
- Users’ behavior in your systems and networks can be tracked with activity tracking technologies. An activity tracking system can help you detect and stop insider threats by identifying questionable conduct if one of your employees engages in strange behavior, whether purposefully or unintentionally, the system will alert you and provide you with the opportunity to investigate.
- The Breach Notification Rule requires a business to notify the Department of Health and Human Services whenever a data breach is identified. The breach notification rule is what it’s called. For situations involving 500 or more people, the statement must be made within 60 days after the discovery. Within 60 days, patients whose information has been compromised must also be told. When the personal information of more than 500 patients is compromised, a media alert to a local news outlet is required.
- Another factor that corporations must consider is the security of email communications. Encryption technologies such as AES for confidential data security against brute force attacks and OpenPGP or S/MIME for encrypting emails should be used for all emails sent from your company’s network.
In a Nutshell
If you are a small organization, the cost of HIPAA-compliant software may cost around $4000. But if your organization is somewhat big or medium in size, the cost can go haywire.
When you consider the substantial expenses incurred by corporations found in violation of HIPAA, it’s clear that the penalties are intended to punish those who fail to protect patient data appropriately. It may appear that being HIPAA compliant is both costly and complex. However, protecting the security of health information and gaining your patients’ trust is invaluable. An onsite HIPAA compliance audit will most likely help you if you’re a significant provider. Security professionals assess your company’s security risks, offer advice on addressing any issues, and consult on the implementation of any pending HIPAA obligations.
There have been multiple instances of HHS enforcing CAPs on the company heads’ who have been found to violate HIPAA. Just like it is said, “it is better to be safe than sorry”, so is the situation in this case. HIPAA compliance is an investment that protects an organization’s money and reputation in the event of a data breach or a lawsuit. A proactive compliance policy helps prevent penalties, but it also reflects the organization’s ethics, which attracts high-quality employees and patients. This is an essential aspect for CEs to remember as they calculate the cost of compliance.
