Managing Business Associates under the 2013 HIPAA Omnibus Final Rule

Business Associates
In 2003 HIPAA defined health care providers and payers as Covered Entities. Organizations that support Covered Entities and come in contact with Protected Health Information (PHI) are Business Associates. Business Associates caused many data breaches but were out of the reach of the federal HIPAA enforcement agencies. They signed Business Associate Agreements stating they would protect patient data, but there was no government enforcement. The HITECH Act of 2009, a law best known for funding Electronic Health Records for doctors and hospitals, requires Business Associates to comply with HIPAA and be directly liable for HIPAA penalties. This actually increases the liability for Covered Entities who now will share liability with Business Associates and their subcontractors.

HIPAA Omnibus Final Rule
In January the US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) released the HIPAA Omnibus Final Rule, setting specific requirements for Business Associates to comply with HIPAA. In the Final Rule were two sections that affect IT VARs/MSPs and their vendors that provide them with data center hosting, colocation, Cloud services, and online backup. Enforcement of the Final Rule will begin September 23, 2013.

Subcontractors
The Final Rule requires Business Associates to ensure that all of their downstream Subcontractors will comply with HIPAA by signing Business Associate Agreements and implementing HIPAA compliance programs, including HIPAA-specific written policies and procedures; workforce training; delivery of HIPAA-compliant services; and documenting their work with enough detail to sustain a HIPAA audit or data breach investigation. If a Business Associate shares protected data with anyone that does not comply with HIPAA, it is a data breach requiring notifying their health care client, who must then notify patients and the federal government. Penalties of up to $ 1.5 million per occurrence may apply, plus costs to notify patients, legal fees, and reputational damage control costs.

Organizations that Maintain Data
The Final Rule also requires that any person or entity that ‘maintains’ (stores) protected data, even if they don’t look at it, is a Business Associate. Notable was that there is no exemption for encrypted data, data in locked cabinets where the owner of the facility does not have keys, or other situations where the data is not— or cannot be— accessed. The Final Rule discusses this starting on page 24 https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2013-01073.pdf Since it could come from a Covered Entity or Business Associate, it is virtually impossible for a hosting, cloud, or backup vendor to prevent PHI from entering their system.
This article is important because it references a presentation by Leon Rodriguez, the government’s chief HIPAA enforcer, who clearly says that data centers offering colocation and hosting now have to comply.
https://healthworkscollective.com/onlinetech/87816/himss-13-hhs-final-ruling-changes-rules-roles-hipaa-hosting

SSAE-16, SOC-2, or SOC-3 do not mean you are HIPAA compliant
There are many different compliance requirements, from different organizations and government agencies, and they are not interchangeable.
This article from datacenterknowledge.com addresses the idea that compliance can be mixed between requirements. Note that the article was written before the Omnibus Final Rule but has some valuable information comparing various accreditations. https://www.datacenterknowledge.com/archives/2012/06/29/hipaa-compliant-data-centers/
This reader’s comment is also relevant.

Certainly SOC 2 brings a somewhat better level of objectivity to data center audits than SSAE 16 (SOC 1), but it is not a substitute for a HIPAA audit. HIPAA requires specific policy, personnel training and breach remediation processes that are not covered in SOC 2 audits. In addition the HIPAA security rules are very different than SOC 2 standards. We support 4 different audits for each of our data centers: SSAE 16, SOC 2, HIPAA and PCI. Each audit has its own purpose and own requirements. While SOC 2 helps data centers move towards a more objective audit, it’s not a substitute for HIPAA or a PCI audit.
You can bet that HHS isn’t going to accept SOC 2 as a proxy for HIPAA compliance when it comes to penalties associated with PHI breaches.

Where can I get more information?
HIPAA Business Associates: Myths & Facts Cloud Storage Providers Storing Protected Health Information May Be Obligated to Comply with HIPAA

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