Protecting patient data is a legal obligation and a critical trust factor for your business. However, applying for HIPAA compliance isn’t as simple as filling out a form. There’s no official application process or certification body.
Instead, your organization must build and maintain the right safeguards, policies, and procedures to secure protected health information (PHI).
If your business handles PHI in any way, you must meet HIPAA’s strict requirements.
This guide explains how to apply HIPAA compliance principles in a practical, step-by-step manner, from assessing risks to implementing controls.
Read on to find out how to apply for HIPAA compliance.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) sets standards for protecting sensitive patient health information. HIPAA compliance means adhering to the regulations outlined in the HIPAA Privacy Rule, Security Rule, Breach Notification Rule, and Omnibus Rule.
Your business must apply for HIPAA compliance if it falls into one of two categories:
HIPAA compliance is mandatory if your business creates, receives, maintains, or transmits PHI in any capacity. Failing to meet these requirements can lead to costly fines, reputational damage, and legal consequences.
Ensure you’ve correctly identified your role, and consult a compliance expert to clarify your obligations if there's any ambiguity.
Let’s find out how to get HIPAA compliant.
Unlike frameworks such as SOC 2 or ISO 27001, HIPAA does not have a formal application or certification process. Instead, organizations must implement and document their compliance with its requirements.
Here’s how to become HIPAA compliant:
Begin by identifying how your organization creates, receives, stores, or transmits protected health information. This includes on-site servers, cloud platforms, mobile devices, email systems, and even physical files.
Assess each system’s current protections and document any gaps or weaknesses in security. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) provides a helpful Security Risk Assessment Tool designed for small to mid-sized organizations.
Be sure to review:
Your risk assessment should result in a detailed report that becomes the foundation of your compliance strategy.
Use your assessment findings to create a formal remediation plan. This plan should clearly outline the issues you’ve uncovered, the risk level they pose, and how you’ll resolve them, along with timelines and responsible parties.
Your plan must address all three required HIPAA safeguard categories:
Make this a living document and review it regularly as your systems and processes evolve.
Develop internal policies that translate HIPAA requirements into actionable rules for your team. These policies should reflect your actual business operations and must be consistently followed.
At a minimum, create:
All policies should be documented, reviewed at least annually, and updated whenever there are significant operational changes.
You’re required to formally appoint two key roles:
In smaller organizations, one person can serve in both roles, but you must document the appointment and ensure they have the authority and resources to fulfill their responsibilities.
Every employee, contractor, or partner who comes into contact with PHI must be trained on HIPAA regulations and your internal policies.
Training should occur:
Training topics should include proper PHI handling, secure communication practices, how to recognize a breach, and how to report suspicious activity.
Document every training session, including the date, content covered, and attendees. Retain those records for compliance audits.
HIPAA compliance requires active, ongoing attention to how your systems operate and evolve. You’ll need to implement and maintain technical controls that protect electronic PHI (ePHI) across your infrastructure.
Key technical safeguards include:
Beyond implementation, your business should routinely:
You must also maintain clear documentation of your technical safeguards, security reviews, and any adjustments made. This evidence will be essential in the event of a compliance audit.
If your organization works with any third parties that handle PHI, such as billing services, IT providers, or cloud storage vendors, you must have a signed Business Associate Agreement (BAA) in place.
Each BAA should:
Maintain a current and signed BAA for each relevant vendor, and review them periodically to ensure ongoing compliance.
Despite strong safeguards, breaches can still occur. You must have a written breach response plan that outlines exactly how your business will respond if PHI is compromised.
Your plan should include:
Under the HIPAA Breach Notification Rule, you are required to notify affected parties and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) within 60 days of discovering a breach involving unsecured PHI.
Strong documentation is one of the most critical parts of HIPAA compliance. If your organization is audited or investigated after a breach, thorough records will serve as proof of due diligence and program effectiveness.
You should maintain clear, organized records of:
Store this documentation securely and ensure it’s accessible to compliance officers and auditors when needed.
To remain compliant, your business must routinely assess and update its policies, procedures, and controls.
Your ongoing evaluation strategy should include:
By committing to regular evaluations, you can keep your HIPAA program effective and up to date and avoid surprises during audits or enforcement actions.
Applying HIPAA compliance requirements across your business can present several challenges, especially if you're working with limited resources or complex systems. Here are some of the most common obstacles organizations face, along with ways to address them:
Many businesses don’t have dedicated compliance teams or in-house technical expertise. If that sounds familiar, consider outsourcing critical compliance tasks, such as risk assessments or policy development or adopting HIPAA compliance software to automate and streamline repetitive processes. This helps you stay compliant without overwhelming your existing staff.
HIPAA regulations are broad, and interpreting how they apply to your specific environment can be difficult. Partnering with experienced compliance consultants or legal experts can help you translate legal language into clear, practical steps your team can follow.
Implementing technical safeguards, like access controls or encryption, can be challenging if your existing systems aren’t security-ready. Take a phased approach by prioritizing the systems that store or transmit the most sensitive PHI. Collaborate with IT to ensure integrations don’t disrupt business operations.
HIPAA requires extensive documentation of policies, training, risk management, and breach responses. To stay organized, use a centralized document management system and set review schedules to ensure records stay current and audit-ready.
Even the best policies are ineffective if your staff isn’t on board. Build a culture of compliance through frequent training, visible leadership support, and easy access to policies. Reinforce good habits through recognition and reminders, and make HIPAA compliance part of daily operations, not just an annual checklist.
BEMO makes HIPAA compliance manageable through our comprehensive platform that provides the following services and benefits:
Here’s how to get started with HIPAA compliance:
Remember that HIPAA compliance is an ongoing commitment rather than a one-time project.
Applying for HIPAA compliance requires implementing comprehensive safeguards to protect PHI, rather than completing a certification application. By following this step-by-step process, organizations in the healthcare industry and business associates can build effective HIPAA compliance programs.
While the process may seem daunting, compliance automation platforms like BEMO's can significantly reduce complexity and resource requirements.
Our solution provides the structure, tools, and expertise needed to achieve and maintain HIPAA compliance efficiently.
Secure your sensitive patient data and meet regulatory requirements with confidence. Book a demo with BEMO today to see how we can simplify your HIPAA compliance journey.
You may face civil penalties, required remediation, or formal corrective action plans depending on the severity and nature of the violation.
At least annually, or whenever major changes occur in your systems, services, or handling of PHI.
Yes. HIPAA applies regardless of business size if you handle, transmit, or store PHI.
Only if you have a signed Business Associate Agreement with the provider and configure the platform with HIPAA-compliant security settings.
Absolutely. Any employee accessing PHI must receive proper HIPAA training, even if they work remotely.