What is HIPAA, and What Are the Reasons Your Organization Needs It?

HIPAA stands for the  Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and is a federal law that governs the United States. HIPAA is a federal law in the United States that controls the privacy and security of Protected Health Information (PHI).  Healthcare providers, health plans, and their business associates must comply with HIPAA.

 Why HIPAA Compliance is Important:

How FileAgo Simplifies Your Journey to HIPAA Compliance

FileAgo offers an end to end, secure, and real time solution to help you achieve the  main goals of HIPAA. In data security, privacy, access control, monitoring and recovery,  FileAgo offers healthcare organizations and their partners the tools they need to be compliant.

Secure Access Controls and Data Permissions

HIPAA requires that access to Protected Health Information (PHI) is restricted to authorized individuals.  FileAgo meets this requirement through its patented combination of waterfall and granular permissions, which allows organizations to specify what access rights should exist.

With role-based access control (RBAC), watermarked reports, one-time view/download links, expiration controls, and domain restrictions, FileAgo guarantees that Protected Health Information (PHI) is accessed and shared securely.

Furthermore, Two-Factor Authentication  (2FA) and device management enhance the security of accessing and sharing Protected Health Information  (PHI) by adding an extra level of protection against unauthorized users or devices.

Data Encryption and Integrity Protection

FileAgo encrypts Protected Health Information (PHI) using AES-256 military grade encryption  for data at rest and in transit, fulfilling the HIPAA Security Rule for encrypted data. Alongside  Digital Rights Management (DRM), FileAgo guarantees that shared Protected Health Information (PHI)  is still secure when transmitted, maintaining the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the PHI.

Comprehensive Audit Logging and Monitoring

FileAgo generates very detailed logs of the audits of 50+ actions such as  Access, internal and external collaboration,  Changes, and Downloads of the PHI. It is useful in fulfilling the audit control and activity review and reporting which are required by HIPAA, because it records all the activities  that happen  with the PHI.  

Real-time alerts and notifications improve reactive security management; administrators can respond quickly to unauthorized access attempts or potential breaches.

Data Recovery, Versioning, and Ransomware-Proof Protection

FileAgo’s Data Leak and Loss Prevention (DLP) mechanisms, automated data versioning, and disaster recovery capabilities ensure thatProtected Health Information (PHI) is never permanently lost.

FileAgo is completely ransomware-proof.

These capabilities directly align with HIPAA’s contingency and data backup plan requirements.

Secure Collaboration and PHI Sharing

FileAgo enables the controlled and auditable sharing of Protected Health Information (PHI) with external entities such as partners or patients.

Features include:

Thus, the above listed features help to ensure that the PHI is securely distributed and received by the right persons at the right time, which is in compliance with the HIPAA security rules regarding the transmission of information.

Organizational Segregation and Role-Based Workspaces

 FileAgo guarantees minimum necessary access to Protected Health Information (PHI) through group and personal workspaces, aligned to HIPAA standards, by team, department or role.

The ability to further categorize and provide context using tags and comments helps support Asset Management and Information Classification practices, beyond the classification itself.

Operational Security, Resource Management, and Efficiency

FileAgo optimizes data management and storage using:

These controls ensure operational efficiency while aligning with HIPAA’s security and operational safeguard requirements.

Secure Communication and Collaboration Tools

FileAgo’s chat functionality ensures secure internal communication — PHI discussions stay within a controlled, encrypted environment, not at risk of unregulated channels.

Authentication, Syncing, and Device Management

FileAgo implements strict authentication procedures using 2FA and device-specific access control, so that only authorized users and from trusted devices are allowed to deal with Protected Health Information (PHI). 

The syncing of data to desktop and local drive is still in development but FileAgo ensures a secure way of data sync through WebDrive to ensure data is always available and manageable and, more importantly, controlled when it comes to PHI.

FileAgo: Simplifying HIPAA Compliance, One Feature at a Time

FileAgo is the solution your healthcare organization needs to secure your Protected Health Information  (PHI) without compromising on efficiency. From secure access control and encrypted storage to ransomware-proof data protection, real-time monitoring; FileAgo makes HIPAA compliance easy without compromising usability.