When you operate a business in the medical field or any other industry that handles sensitive health information, it’s no secret that you’re required to maintain compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). This law sets forth several regulations that businesses and organizations are required to follow to keep personal data (including medical records) secure.
Having a HIPAA-compliant server is a must if you’ll be collecting or transmitting sensitive health data over the web. Shared or cloud-based servers may appear to be an effective option due to their convenience and low cost, but they often lack necessary security features and capabilities. Dedicated servers, on the other hand, offer a variety of security options. Plus, because they are not shared with other users, you’ll have greater peace of mind knowing that your clients’ or patients’ data won’t fall into the wrong hands.
Of course, not all dedicated hosting companies are created equal. As you explore your options for a HIPAA-compliant dedicated server, there are a handful of things you’ll want to look for.
Data Center Security
Start by making sure your hosting company takes measures to keep information safe, not only over the web but at their data center locations, as well. Physical data center security is crucial, and unfortunately, it’s often overlooked in favor of digital security factors.
Ideally, the dedicated hosting company you choose will have security personnel on-site 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In addition to this, surveillance cameras and strict access-control systems should be in place to keep unauthorized personnel away from server rooms.
HIPAA Experience
As you explore your options for a HIPAA dedicated server, you’ll want to make sure your hosting company has experience handling federal regulations as they apply to hosting. That way, you can feel confident knowing that your server host will be able to answer any HIPAA-related questions you might have.
Backup and Recovery Plans
When choosing a dedicated server, you should also ensure that your hosting company has an effective backup and disaster recovery plan in place. Specifically, your server should have a backup option that is easy to understand and follow and a disaster recovery plan that allows you to restore data as quickly as possible if it is lost. Having an emergency operation plan is also a must for keeping your practice or business running during natural disasters, power outages, and other unfortunate events.
Total Data Encryption
Another aspect of HIPAA-compliance you can’t overlook is data encryption. Ideally, you’ll want to ensure that all information that comes in and out of your server is completely encrypted at every stage of the process. That way, even in the event of a data breach, the chance of an attacker being able to use the information is slim-to-none.
Handling Sensitive Health Data? ReliableSite Is Here to Help
At ReliableSite, we take pride in our knowledge and expertise when it comes to HIPAA compliance. We’d be happy to answer any questions you may have about our hosting plans and help you select a server configuration that best suits your needs while keeping patient data safe and secure. Contact us today to get started!