Health information such as diagnoses, treatment information, medical test results, and prescription information are considered protected health information under HIPAA, as are national identification numbers and demographic information such as birth dates, gender, ethnicity, and contact and emergency contact …

The safeguards requirement, as with all other requirements in the Privacy Rule, establishes protections for PHI in all forms: paper, electronic, and oral. Safeguards include such actions and practices as securing locations and equipment; implementing technical solutions to mitigate risks; and workforce training.

THE THREE PARTS OF HIPAA Although each of these issues – privacy, security, and administrative simplification – will be covered separately, don’t forget that they are interdependent and are designed to work together to protect patient confidentiality.

Definition(s): Protective measures and controls prescribed to meet the security requirements specified for an information system. Safeguards may include security features, management constraints, personnel security, and security of physical structures, areas, and devices.

These include virus scanners, firewalls, monitoring operating system logs, software logs, version control and document disposition certification. Encrypted storage and transmission is necessary for particularly sensitive personal health information.

The HIPAA Security Rule Standards and Implementation Specifications has four major sections, created to identify relevant security safeguards that help achieve compliance: 1) Physical; 2) Administrative; 3) Technical, and 4) Policies, Procedures, and Documentation Requirements.

The three pillars to securing protected health information outlined by HIPAA are administrative safeguards, physical safeguards, and technical safeguards [4]. These three pillars are also known as the three security safeguard themes for healthcare.

According to the text of the HIPAA Security Rule, physical safeguards are defined as “the physical measures, policies, and procedures to protect a covered entity’s electronic information systems and related buildings and equipment, from natural and environmental hazards, and unauthorized intrusion.” In terms of …

There are three types of safeguards that you need to implement: administrative, physical and technical.

Reasonable Safeguards. A covered entity must have in place appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards that protect against uses and disclosures not permitted by the Privacy Rule, as well as that limit incidental uses or disclosures. See 45 CFR 164.530(c).

Some common controls include things like locked doors, signs labeling restricted areas, surveillance cameras, onsite security guards, and alarms.

The standards under physical safeguards include facility access controls, workstation use, workstation security, and device and media controls.

The HIPAA Security Rule requires three kinds of safeguards: administrative, physical, and technical.

Physical Safeguards are a set of rules and guidelines outlined in the HIPAA Security Rule that focus on the physical access to Protected Health Information (PHI). There are four standards in the Physical Safeguards: Facility Access Controls, Workstation Use, Workstation Security and Devices and Media Controls.

The minimum necessary standard requires covered entities to evaluate their practices and enhance safeguards as needed to limit unnecessary or inappropriate access to and disclosure of protected health information.

The Privacy Rule protects all “individually identifiable health information” held or transmitted by a covered entity or its business associate, in any form or media, whether electronic, paper, or oral. The Privacy Rule calls this information “protected health information (PHI).”