How to Stay HIPAA Compliant With Digital Marketing

Healthcare industry marketers, like their non-medical counterparts, rely on data. To stay competitive, they must embrace data-driven marketing. That marketing relies on accessing, cleansing, and harvesting user-generated data.

Medical industry marketers, in particular, must be careful not to disclose personal information. All data must be made anonymous. HIPAA regulations are clear, and the penalties for non-compliance can be severe.

HIPAA compliance in marketing

The challenge is to balance HIPAA compliance with data-driven marketing campaigns. This post will provide 5 time-tested strategies to meet that challenge. Those strategies are:

1. Understand HIPAA regulations and the HIPAA Security Rule.
2. Identify and minimize the use of electronic personal health information (ePHI) in marketing processes.
3. Develop a comprehensive HIPAA compliance program.
4. Use software integration tools designed for HIPAA compliance.
5. Maintain a clear compliance trail.

Understand HIPAA Regulations

You don't have to be a healthcare provider, a health insurance company, or a healthcare clearinghouse to be covered by HIPAA regulations. The HIPAA rules also apply to business associates who perform functions like marketing—on their behalf. So, a successful marketing strategy for so-called HIPAA-covered entities has to be based on a solid understanding of the main provisions of HIPAA:

• The HIPAA Privacy Rule requires everyone to protect the privacy of patients' personal health information.
• The HIPAA Security Rule is the benchmark for safeguarding ePHI.

Identify and Minimize ePHI in Marketing Processes

Electronic health records are a valuable resource in providing quality patient care, containing vital information about a patient's medical history, treatments, and outcomes. However, when it comes to utilizing this data for marketing purposes, it is crucial to ensure the protection of patient privacy and confidentiality. Following guidance from HHS.gov on de-identifying these records is essential before incorporating any generic data into marketing strategies or online tracking efforts. This process involves removing any identifying information that could link the data back to specific individuals, thus safeguarding patient privacy and complying with HIPAA regulations. By taking these necessary steps, healthcare industry marketers can effectively leverage the insights from electronic health records without compromising patient confidentiality.

Develop a Comprehensive HIPAA Compliance Program

Covered entities and their business partners must institute a reliable HIPAA compliance program to include:

• Patient privacy protection: The purpose of HIPAA and foundation for patient trust.
• Regulatory compliance: The sure way to avoid penalties and sanctions that accompany patient privacy breaches.
• Risk management: Including regular risk assessments to identify vulnerabilities and prevent data breaches.
• Business continuity: Maintaining security, integrity, and confidentiality of personal health information to keep the business running in the face of threats and disruptions.
• Staff awareness and training: Regular HIPAA compliance training for the staff can ensure that employees understand what HIPAA is and how it fits into the big picture of patient confidentiality and compliance.

Software Tools Designed for HIPAA compliance

Any software that stores, maintains, transmits, or processes personal health information data must have security features to stay HIPAA compliant. Look for software programs that have the following:

• Data encryption: Look for software solutions with industry-standard encryption protocols. The data must be encrypted while at rest and in transit.
• Strong access controls: Features that restrict access to sensitive personal health information—e.g., user authentication, role-based access, and multi-factor authentication.
• User monitoring: Tracking and recording user activities, system events, and data access to detect potential security incidents and maintain an audit trail in the case of a data breach.
• Data backup and disaster recovery: The only sure method of recovering from a system crash or malware attack is a secure off-site data backup. Software solutions must include automatic and frequent data backups with a recovery point that ensures the minimum acceptable loss of data between the time of the incident and the data recovery operation.
• Patches and security updates: HIPAA-compliant software must stay a step ahead of known security threats through a proactive system of security updates.
• Business Associate Agreements (BAAs): Software vendors must comply with the HIPAA BAA requirement. The vendor must agree to remain HIPAA compliant.
• Software vendors with a solid reputation for HIPAA compliance: Look for reviews of healthcare software and decide what's best for your organization. To verify a software vendor's claim of HIPAA compliance, ask the following questions:

1. Is the vendor willing to sign a BAA (see above)?
2. What is the vendor's industry presence and reputation?
3. Does the vendor provide separate HIPAA compliance guidance to its customers?
4. Does the vendor's product offer the HIPAA security protocols mentioned above?
5. Are there independent case studies and testimonials from other healthcare organizations that support the vendor's quality claims?
   
   

Maintaining a Clear HIPAA Compliance Trail

In the event of a HIPAA audit, your organization must show evidence that you take patient privacy seriously. That evidence includes the following:

• Written policies and procedures.
• Records of regular risk assessments that identify potential threats and vulnerabilities.
• Audit logging and record access monitoring evidence.
• Documented staff training and HIPAA awareness programs.
• Records of BAAs with associated businesses.
• Records of security incidents or breaches.
• Evidence of review and updating of compliance documentation.
• Staff training records with subjects, dates, and attendance records.

Let's Recap

Balancing HIPAA compliance with digital marketing requires a solid knowledge of HIPAA, avoiding the use of electronic health records, and developing a comprehensive compliance program. You can build your healthcare marketing processes and integrate key software to manage both those goals while maintaining a clear compliance trail.

If you're looking for more healthcare marketing tips, check out our Lead Gen eBook.