What Is The Best HIPAA Compliance Software?

The best HIPAA compliance software is a compliance management tool that helps a covered entity navigate the complexities and stringent requirements of HIPAA compliance.

The majority of healthcare organizations with under 100 employees do not employ a specialized compliance officer. At smaller organizations, responsibility for HIPAA normally falls to an administrator or practice manager who usually won’t have deep knowledge of compliance matters. For these multitasking individuals, the best HIPAA compliance software can not only reduce the administrative burden, by simplifying and automating compliance, but also foster peace of mind in their role through comprehensive risk management processes.

What Are The Benefits Of HIPAA Compliance Software?

The benefits of using HIPAA compliance software for an administrator or practice manager are as follows:

• Reduced Administrative Burden: HIPAA compliance software automates many administrative tasks related to compliance management, such as tracking training requirements, managing documentation, and scheduling audits. This frees up time and reduces the administrative burden.
• Effective Risk Management: HIPAA compliance solutions provide tools for conducting risk assessments, identifying vulnerabilities, and implementing risk mitigation strategies.
• Confidence In Role: The best HIPAA compliance software offers built-in guidance, templates, and best practices to support compliance efforts. This helps the compliance officer feel more confident in their ability to fulfil their responsibilities, even without specialized training or expertise in compliance matters.
• Reduced Stress: By using HIPAA compliance tracking software, individuals can feel reassured that they are taking all necessary steps to protect patient information and maintain compliance with HIPAA. This peace of mind reduces the stress and uncertainty associated with compliance management.

What To Consider When Purchasing HIPAA Compliance Software?

By following our buyer’s guide framework, you can make a thorough assessment of the best HIPAA compliance software options and select the most suitable solution to support your organization’s requirements. There are three aspects to consider when purchasing HIPAA compliance software which are discussed in detail below:

1. Essential Functionality

2. Software Specifications

3. Business Considerations

1. What Essential Functionality Is Required For HIPAA Compliance Software?

The best HIPAA compliance software should be a flexible system that follows a recognized framework like the HHS’s Seven Fundamental Elements Of An Effective Compliance Program. It should offer both a prebuilt approach and customizable options.

The solution needs to ultimately provide proof of compliance for patients, clients and auditors, and ideally offer a certification process for this.

For compliance officers with little experience, the initial set up of the software is key. The best HIPAA compliance solutions offer some form of live compliance coaching to guide you through each step for setting up your HIPAA compliance program. 

The following essential functionality will allow you to confidently address your organization’s compliance requirements:

1. Risk Assessment

• Risk assessment tools
• Risk scoring
• Gap identification
• Remediation planning

2. Policies & Procedures

• Templated and customisable policies and procedures
• Policy and procedure management
• Central storage of policies and procedures

3. Employee Training

• Train, track and manage HIPAA compliance training for employees
• Up-to-date HIPAA compliance training modules
• Personized, individual employee training certificates

4. Vendor Management

• Identify and track business associates
• Customisable business associate agreement templates
• Store and track business associate agreements

5. Incident Response

• Anonymous incident reporting for employees
• Breach incident reporting
• Breach management tools

5. Reporting

• Customisable reporting templates including reports to demonstrate compliance to stakeholders or regulators
• Centralized documentation storage
• Audit logging and reports

What other features should you consider for your HIPAA compliance solution?

• Consider if you also need OSHA (Dental or Medical) and SOC 2 compliance, and if so, ensure your chosen software can provide this as an all-in-one healthcare compliance solution.
• Does the software allow you to customize your own compliance standards?

2. What Are The Software Specifications To Consider For HIPAA Compliance Solutions?

Software specifications are aspects of a solution, such as usability or scalability, that are not about specific functionality but describe the broader qualities of the software. Specifications will help inform your decision when comparing HIPAA compliance software solutions.

1. Ease Of Use

• Assess the software’s overall user experience, including the user interface and navigation around the solution.
• Does it have an intuitive interface that includes guided workflows for conducting compliance activities? This is vital to make it easier for individuals without deep compliance expertise to navigate the compliance process.
• How user-friendly are the training modules that employees will be required to take as part of the organization’s compliance?

2. Scalability & Flexibility

• Can the software accommodate your organization’s current scale, for example, to manage multiple locations?
• Can it scale up and adapt to your organization’s evolving future needs?

3. Integration Capabilities

• How will the software integrate with your existing IT infrastructure and the other third-party applications used within your organization?
• Cloud-based solutions are the easiest to implement, and have the advantage that ongoing infrastructure maintenance is the responsibility of the software vendor.

4. Future Proofing

• How will the software vendor address regulatory changes and updates to ensure ongoing compliance in a timely manner?

 

 

3. What Are The Business Considerations When Choosing HIPAA Compliance Software?

You may find that when evaluating functionality and specifications, a favoured vendor will emerge and you feel ready to award them the business right away. It is highly recommended that you don’t allow yourself to be pressured into a fast decision before fully examining the commercial and business considerations.

1. Vendor Reputation

• Is the software endorsed by any medical associations?
• Do they have current case studies and testimonials from other healthcare organizations that have successfully implemented the software?
• It is always a good idea to request references i.e. to directly speak with existing customers about their experiences with both the software and the vendor.

2. Vendor Training & Support

• Does the vendor offer live support to guide you through the setup of their HIPAA compliance software solution?
• Is there a separate cost for this, or is it included in the price?
• After setup what ongoing support is offered and it is this included in the vendor’s annual charges?

3. Costs

• Look for a transparent breakdown of pricing structures, including initial setup costs, licensing fees, and any additional charges for support or updates.
• Is there a one-time purchase cost or is it a subscription-based model? Subscriptions have become the most common way to purchase cloud based software.
• If cost is an issue and it appears that the solutions on your shortlist are similar, ensure you create a price comparison table taking all factors into account, such as extra costs for training or support. For example, if HIPAA training is included or not.
• Does the vendor offer discounts? For example, they may offer a group discount for an association you may already be a member of. It’s always worth asking as often this can be 15% or more off the list price annually.

4. Free Trial Or Money Back Guarantee

• A full demonstration may be enough to help you make your decision, but sometimes a short trial period can be helpful if you have any doubts. It also allows you to ask your colleagues take a look before a final decision is made.
• Not all software is suitable for a free trial because of the effort required for the setup by both vendor and the customer. In this scenario you could ask for a guarantee that if you are not satisfied you have the option to back out of the agreement within a certain timeframe, like 30 days.

 

5. Software Licence Period

• What is the commitment period you are signing up for? Is it month-by-month or year-by-year? Is there a minimum period such as three or five years? Read the small print on any agreement.
• The advantage with shorter periods is that onus is on the software vendor to ensure you are kept happy because they won’t want you to cancel. Alternatively, if you are willing to sign up for a longer period, or pay for a year in advance, then the annual costs may be reduced.

Free Buyer’s Guide

We have compiled a free buyer’s guide to choosing HIPAA compliance software. This includes a checklist for the three aspects discussed in this article. This can be downloaded by filling in the form on this page.