e-Framework of compliance for Enterprises - Compliance Management Software

Every organization, whether big or small, needs to conform to certain stated requirements. This compliance is achieved through various management processes such as regulations, strategies, contracts and policies. Compliance management is not a new term for the industries, but in today’s industrial scenario, Governance, Risk management and Compliance are grouped under one umbrella as GRC and it is a new way of adopting an integrated approach to corporate governance, enterprise risk management and corporate compliance.

The compliance management software solution has paved the way for an integrated approach to the various compliance issues faced by any organisation. Management of compliance procedures traditionally, were done at department levels. With the industries going global and user groups spread worldwide, these compliance initiatives have become complicated and intertwined with regulatory and organisational requirements. This intertwined network brings down the efficiency of the organisation and poses a great risk to its existence.

The advantage of using compliance management software is that it continuously monitors the process across enterprises. The compliance dashboards highlight issues and triggers off alerts that need immediate attention and correction from the respective organization authorities. With an automated flow of information assessments and testing methods, the integrated document management system controls change and keeps business process in sync, complete with audit and change reports. This software also provides the managers track the status of issues till these are solved as per the compliance procedures. Further, it provides for workflow, document management, inventory controls, compliance scanner, and detailed access controls through a secure web based interface.

The impact of the use of virtual desktops and cloud computing has effected every organization. This has made the business world a smaller place and has increased the complexity of security and management of resources. With resources spread globally and in a virtual space, the need for a cloud based automated IT security and compliance management solution makes enormous sense that consolidates GRC compliance management solution and information security that is easily adaptable with a built-in support to various compliance management frameworks and to different industry segments. The compliance management software with an effective system of IT governance, and advanced risk mitigation system, will definitely cover threats from all areas whether external, internal, deliberated or accidental. Additionally, it would also be flexible enough to seamlessly accommodate new regulations and policies that would be developed in future.

Also read on: PCI Compliance, Healthcare compliance here.

Tips to Ensure HITECH Compliance

THE HITECH or Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act) came into effect on February 17, 2009 aimed at providing funds and safeguarding the usage of electronic exchange of health information. This Act has brought in significant changes in the healthcare industry's approach to data protection. In order to reduce data breaches, the new Act makes it mandatory for healthcare organizations to notify  privacy breaches to their patients. With greater emphasis laid on storing and safeguarding of vital patient information, the new compliance rule states that access to patient information should be restricted.

The need for effective documentation of policies and procedures on security-related issues has left many healthcare providers worrying about adhering to these compliance measures. On matters such as risk assessments, incident reports, and logging system activities, healthcare providers are uncertain as to how to handle these issues. By investing in a solution that can handle compliance requirements easily and effectively, healthcare providers can efficiently manage these matters, ensuring best HITECH compliance. Steps must be taken to reinforce safeguards for EMRs/EHRs and facilitate secure storage and movement of these valuable data. With large number of health information elements taking an electronic form that enables sharing across the healthcare system, the risk and impact of a security breach of the electronic data has become more significant. The following tips can help healthcare facilities prepare for HITECH regulations.

●        Categorizing of Content by PHI
●        Ensure the Protection of PHI at rest and in motion

●        Ensure secure exchange of files

●        Track and ensure correct Message delivery

With the creation of suitable secure information exchange, it can be assured that healthcare facilities are on the right path to meeting the requirements of the HITECH Act. It is therefore important to seek out a compliance management software solution that can offer optimized HITECH compliance management techniques that can be of great advantage to any healthcare provider.

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How Prepared Are You for the Upcoming HIPAA Audit?

With the long overdue HIPAA privacy and security compliance audit program scheduled to begin later this year or early next year, it’s time for every healthcare entity to do a reality check and find out if their privacy and security policies really work. Is your organization prepared for the upcoming HIPAA compliance audit? If yes, how well are you prepared?

“An important component of preparing for a potential HIPAA compliance audit is to complete a ‘walk through’ to make sure privacy and security policies and procedures are practical and effective” says Adam Greene, (a veteran health law attorney and a former key regulator at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, where he played a fundamental role in administering and enforcing HIPAA privacy, security, and breach notification rules) in his article ‘HIPAA Audits: Preparation Steps’. Most organizations formulate policies and procedures, assuming that they would work best to meet their privacy and security needs. But as in Greene’s words, “in the reality of a complex and busy environment” these policies and procedures may not work as expected. It is therefore of prime importance to conduct a self-audit to identify areas that may require policy or procedural changes, and ensure optimal HIPAA compliance.

According to Adam Greene, there are four things that are crucial when preparing for the HIPAA compliance audit: First is to make sure that all your privacy and security policies are up-to-date. Second is to ensure that your employees are comprehensively trained in the latest privacy and security protocols. Third is to formulate a clear sanctions policy to ensure that employees do not violate these protocols. And fourth is to be prepared with extensive documentation to demonstrate your compliance management efforts.

So, while you may have put in place policies and procedures to protect sensitive information, merely doing this will no longer suffice. To effectively handle the HIPAA audit, you need to keep track of how your security and privacy measures work, and also maintain adequate supporting records. This is where our SecureGRC solution may come in handy.

SecureGRC is an automated and integrated IT security and compliance management platform, which not only offers a comprehensive threat management capability, but also provides a unified view of your compliance status, making it easy to keep track of compliance related information. It holistically covers all aspects of threats – internal or external, known or unknown, intentional or unintentional, deliberate or accidental through an effective risk mitigation system.

This solution is flexible and scalable to address new requirements, giving you the capability to seamlessly manage existing and potential risks. Its 24X7 information security monitoring and real-time reporting capabilities enable you to effectively manage threats. And most importantly, the centralized dashboard view summarizes the compliance status helping you generate comprehensive reports to help you demonstrate compliance for any regulatory or standard-based audits, including the periodic HIPAA compliance audit.

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