Get HIPAA Compliant
HIPAA (US Healthcare Privacy & Security) is as much an evidence problem as it is a policy problem. Teams fail when controls exist, but proof is scattered, outdated, or inconsistent.
Neutral Partners helps you scope what matters, implement practical controls, and build an evidence package reviewers, customers, and internal stakeholders can trust.
At a Glance
- Best for: Covered entities and business associates handling ePHI
- Works with: Security programs like ISO 27001 and SOC 2 when mapped to HIPAA safeguards
- Outcome: HIPAA-ready safeguards, BAAs, and evidence for audits and customers
- Focus: Risk analysis, access control, vendor oversight, and incident readiness
- Common failure point: Assuming policy language substitutes for risk analysis and operational proof
If you want a plan you can execute, start with a short working session.
Book a Discovery SessionWhat Is HIPAA (US Healthcare Privacy & Security)
HIPAA (US Healthcare Privacy & Security) defines expectations for how organizations manage privacy and related controls. Compliance becomes durable when you treat it as an operating model: defined responsibilities, repeatable workflows, and evidence that stays current.
Neutral Partners focuses on making the requirements actionable—so the program works in production, not just on paper.
Privacy Rule, Security Rule, and Breach Notification
Clarity on the variant and scope prevents rework and helps you build the right evidence the first time.
- Privacy Rule: How PHI is used and disclosed; notices and patient rights workflows.
- Security Rule: Administrative, physical, and technical safeguards for ePHI.
- Breach Notification: Incident triage and notification procedures with documented timelines and decisions.
Who Needs HIPAA
HIPAA typically matters when you collect, use, share, or host personal data in a way that customers, regulators, or partners will scrutinize.
- Healthcare SaaS and digital health: Handling ePHI in applications, support, and analytics.
- Business associates: Vendors providing services to covered entities involving PHI.
- Providers modernizing IT: Cloud migrations that require clear shared responsibility and BAAs.
What HIPAA Covers
Most efforts fail when organizations try to “document” their way into compliance without aligning systems, vendors, and day-to-day operations. A practical program ties requirements to the workflows that generate proof.
- Risk analysis & management: Documented risk assessment for ePHI and tracked remediation.
- Safeguards & access control: Least privilege, MFA, audit logs, encryption, and secure configuration.
- Business associate governance: BAAs, subcontractor oversight, and PHI flow documentation.
- Incident response: Detection, investigation, and breach-notification decisioning with proof.
Evidence Auditors Expect
Audits and customer reviews move faster when evidence is organized, traceable, and repeatable. Common evidence categories include:
- Governance: policies, risk assessments, training records, roles and responsibilities
- Operational: access reviews, ticketing/change approvals, incident response records
- Technical: MFA/encryption settings, audit logs, configuration exports, vulnerability reports
- Third-party: BAAs/DPAs, supplier due diligence, shared responsibility mappings
Rule of thumb: if you can’t prove it with current evidence, you can’t rely on it.
HIPAA Roadmap
Move faster by running the work like a program: clear scope, owned controls, and a living evidence library.
Define scope and data flows
Map personal data, systems, vendors, and cross-border transfers. Confirm roles (controller/processor) and applicability.
Run a focused gap assessment
Compare current policies, controls, and workflows to the framework requirements. Prioritize the changes that unlock compliance.
Implement controls and workflows
Deploy operational controls (requests, consent/opt-outs, vendor governance) and harden security safeguards where needed.
Build an evidence library
Create repeatable evidence: logs, tickets, screenshots, reports, and narratives that tie to requirements and can be refreshed on a cadence.
Validate readiness
Do a pre-assessment style review, remediate findings, and package materials so reviewers and customers can follow the story quickly.
Make HIPAA a Growth Lever
Compliance becomes a revenue enabler when customers can trust your controls—and you can prove them quickly.
Schedule a Discovery SessionCommon HIPAA Gaps
- Risk analysis is outdated: Assessments are periodic but not tied to system changes or vendor shifts.
- BAAs don’t match reality: PHI flows to tools that aren’t covered by BAAs or vendor terms.
- Logging without review: Audit logs exist, but there’s no evidence of monitoring or response.
- Incident playbooks are vague: No clear decision tree for what constitutes a reportable breach.
How Neutral Partners Helps
We help you scope the work, implement what matters, and build evidence that holds up to review—without derailing product velocity.
What We Deliver
- Scope & data mapping: Clear inventories, flows, and role mapping so requirements match reality.
- Policies & notices: Practical disclosures and policy language aligned to product behavior and vendors.
- Workflow buildout: DSARs, opt-outs/consent, incident triage, and evidence capture built into operations.
- Vendor governance: DPAs/BAAs, subprocessor oversight, and shared responsibility mapping with proof.
- Sustainment: A cadence for refresh: evidence routines, metrics, and readiness check-ins.
Proof matters. Since 2017, we have maintained a 100% audit success rate across more than 700 successful audits and assessments.
HIPAA FAQs
Are we a covered entity or business associate?
Your role depends on how you create, receive, maintain, or transmit PHI and for whom. The role drives contract and safeguard expectations.
Do we need encryption?
HIPAA treats some safeguards as addressable, but you must justify decisions and implement equivalent protections where needed.
What is required for risk analysis?
A documented, ongoing assessment of risks to ePHI with remediation tracking and management sign-off.
How fast must we notify for a breach?
HIPAA has notification timelines; readiness depends on having a repeatable incident and evidence workflow.