To select the correct partner for HIPAA and cloud technologies is a careful evaluation. There are many cloud vendors that, while they offer cloud solutions, will not help your organization be compliant with healthcare risk strategies.
First, examine the provider’s willingness to sign a BAA without excessive negotiation. Reluctance often signals they aren’t prepared for HIPAA’s requirements.
Now measure their certifications for security and privacy. There are no certifications that guarantee HIPAA compliance, but a provider that has received any of the top certifications, such as SOC 2 Type II, HITRUST, and ISO 27001, is likely to have a great security posture.
“When looking for a cloud provider, we prioritized someone with healthcare experience,” Dr. Rachel Santos, CMIO of Central Healthcare Network, said. “Their understanding of clinical workflows and compliance minimized the headaches during implementation.”
There are three major cloud platforms—AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud—that all have HIPAA-eligible services with proper configuration. Many organizations also find value in partnering with a particular provider under the umbrella of cloud managed services, who will understand the healthcare cloud deployment compliance, as well as technological complexities.
Consider these provider attributes when evaluating HIPAA compliance for cloud:
Location transparency: The provider should tell you where your data resides. This matters for both compliance and performance reasons.
Access controls: Evaluate how the provider implements role-based access and authentication systems.
Encryption capabilities: The provider should offer robust encryption options that you control.
Audit support: Determine how easily you can extract audit logs for compliance verification.
Breach notification: Review how quickly and thoroughly the provider will alert you to security incidents.
Organizations with specific platform preferences might consider specialized options like aws cloud managed services or azure managed services to maximize both compliance and operational efficiency on their chosen infrastructure.