Big organizations often need web applications to handle and manage their medical information but with strict HIPAA compliance Rules, the healthcare providers need to ensure that they are entrusting their sensitive PHI data to vendors and partners who are as vigilant as they themselves are in protecting PHI. As such when choosing your web designer for management of data, you should take certain precautions.
Firstly, get detailed information about your prospective web designer and also the favt whether or not he has developed any other applications that are meant to handle medical information. HIPAA guidelines must be ensured and this aspect must be kept in mind by the application developers must keep in mind. Keep costs low by building HIPAA compliance into your application from the start.
Also, choose a web hosting company that has previous experience with HIPAA compliant web applications. In this way, you would choose a company that has experience providing an extra level of security required by the provisions in HIPAA.
If your business is governed by HIPAA guidelines, the best business practice would be to ensure that your vendors follow the same standards. Responsible vendors will already have HIPAA guidelines in place. These include a discernible HIPAA processes backed by a HIPAA manual, regular HIPAA training for all employees and a designated privacy officer to oversee the entire process.
