The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Security Rule establishes a national set of minimum security standards for protecting all electronic private health information (ePHI) that a Covered Entity (CE) and Business Associate (BA) create, receive, maintain, or transmit. The Security Rule contains the administrative, physical, and technical safeguards that CEs and BAs must put in place to secure ePHI. With that in mind, what types of information system components need to be heavily scrutinized to help protect the confidentiality and integrity of ePHI?  What types of controls would you recommend implementing to safeguard ePHI?  Cite resources and references that back up your assertions.

Things to consider when deciding what safeguards to use vary depending on the organization’s size or capabilities, the technical infrastructure, cost, and risk factors. Administrative, physical, and technical safeguards are recommended to protect ePHI. Administrative safeguards can include ensuring security protocols and risk assessments are followed. Facilities being protected where information is stored and where all devices are not accessible can be a physical safeguard. Lastly, technical safeguards can include but are not limited to, audits and user controls being monitored.

References:

(OCR), O. for C. R. (2022, October 20). Summary of the HIPAA security rule. HHS.gov. https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/security/laws-regulations/index.html