The Thousand Solutions Blog

Top 5 HIPAA Compliant Web Hosting Services for WordPress

Mar 24, 2023

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Your HIPAA policy manager must complete a checklist that is for as long as they can to ensure your organization properly is following all regulations.

In addition, failure to meet Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) rules can result in severe penalty.

It could mean jail time and fines of up to $50,000 per offense (up up to $1.5 million a year). That's some serious top-tier peril!

Small-sized businesses, HIPAA compliance can be particularly difficult to understand as well asafford. Yet, you're among the businesses that can't afford to pay costly fines.

Don't worry, though. We've got you covered.

The following list contains optionsthat'll protect your data and secure and keep you adhering to all HIPAA guidelines (at the very least, when it comes to the ground).

We'll also break down the features that are essential and the certificates required. That way you can check our workings and sleep easy knowing your data is secure.

Let's go!

Do I Need HIPAA-Compliant Web Hosting?

If you're not in the U.S.

HIPAA is created to safeguard the protected personal health data (PHI) from Americans, wherever they are wherever they are in the world. So if you're doing transactions online, HIPAA compliance is your best bet, no matter your location.

If you're not involved in healthcare, you'll need be in compliance with HIPPA when you deal with PHI in your business.

With a rise in telemedicine and remote patient monitoring and remote patient monitoring, HIPAA-compliant hosting is now much more important than ever. In fact, non-compliant web hosts actually forbid using their services to websites subject to HIPAA rules.

It is essential to note that if you are hosting any kind of medical information on your website - from patient records to prescriptions, and so on - it is essential to use HIPAA-compliant hosting for your website.

This is why it's well worth the effort...

The reason to establish an Online Healthcare Business?

It's likely that you've heard about sites such as Zocdoc and Betterhelp which offer healthcare professionals an online client platform.

They're powerful and big. It may make you feel compelled to skip the hassle creating your own site. However, you should not!

Here are a few advantages to having your own website is the best option...

1. Greater Control over the Ownership of Profits and Assets

Third-party platforms may receive a substantial portion of your revenue. On top of that, you often have to pay for membership costs. Also, they're at liberty to change fee prices and terms and conditions at the time of the need.

Seth Meyers Lol GIF by Late Night with Seth Meyers - Find & Share on GIPHY

As an example, Zocdoc recently changed its fee structure from a flat annual rate of $3000 for each company. Now, Zocdoc healthcare practitioners must be paid a flat amount per new patient and an annual fee for license.

As you build your business through third-party platforms, the more at risk you become. And that just doesn't make any sense in terms of business.

2. Build an Intimate Community of Patients

When you use WordPress as well  other platforms, you get more control over the pricing. However, you'll also have the ability to establish a community around your service.

Patients appreciate the personal touch provided by the healthcare professional they are able to reach out to anytime they need to.

In addition, you can include additional resources including resources and information for your patients to easily access and refer to.

For example, customer New Hope Counseling & Wellness Center can provide therapies and counseling services on their website.

They regularly share material that will help their community of survivors of eating disorders, trauma and other eating disorders.

3. Maximize Recurring Revenue

Recurring income is a source of revenue that is repeated on a regular basis. Services that are subscription-based can be an instance of recurring revenues. This type of model is more stable and predictable than single-time payment.

Here are some recurring income ideas for healthcare that you can provide on your WordPress site. They include :

Make subscriptions for ongoing appointments.

Give your patients the option of a monthly installment to spread the cost of their treatments or regular appointments.

The cost of a subscription on a consistent basis could be a way to encourage patients to make regularly scheduled appointments as well as treatments. Patients will feel more accountability to make use of the service they are paying for.

Additionally, offering an option to pay monthly could assist in making healthcare accessible for patients who may be unable to afford large amounts in advance.

This can help to enhance the level of satisfaction and loyalty among patients, and ultimately lead to better health outcomes.

Develop treatment programs

Design treatment programs to aid your patients in completing their treatment at home.

If you're a physiotherapist perhaps, you could create a course with progressively higher-level exercises in order to help your patients' recovery.

As a primary care practitioner can you put together a course on how to treat the type 2 form of diabetes.

If you are a mental health specialist You could design a course to help people manage their moods, or develop a mindfulness practice.

They can also be arranged in a tied. As an example, a base subscription gives access to a four-week online course. There is also a professional subscription granting access to personalized 1:1 telehealth appointments.

Create a paywalled resource hub

Develop a library of resources that your patients can access with their subscription. This could include information sheets and meal plans, as well as relevant videos, or articles There are many options!

Your patients will have all the information they need to supplement treatment on one page, which makes it easier for them to remain active and motivated throughout their appointments.

makes recurring revenue a doddle

Whatever you're thinking of for your website, is the best WordPress membership plugin to help bring your idea into reality.

Develop tiered subscriptions and paywall content, and manage telehealth appointments all directly through your website.

Integrates with more than 5000 platforms, add-ons and platforms. This includes the following plugins that can help you ensure HIPAA conformity:

4. It's Much Simpler Than You Think

Don't let online security jargon make you nervous. If you choose the best service company and sound, professional advice, you can be able to follow HIPAA protocols and build an awesome website.

However, before you do, continue reading to determine the best web hosting provider for your needs.

Essential Features to be HIPAA-compliant Web Hosting

In order to ensure HIPAA conformity There are some necessary features and certifications your web hosting solution must have. The following are required:

  • Advanced firewalls
  • Security monitoring and scanning for malware
  • Multi-factor authentication
  • Secure virtual private networks (VPNs) to secure cloud access and electronically secured health data (ePHI) in transit
  • Extra secure SSL/TLS encryption for gespeichert data
  • Physically secure server locations in HIPAA-approved data centers
  • Audit logs are used to keep track of HIPAA-regulated actions and access to data
  • Data backup and off-site storage
  • Resistance to recovery of data in the event of loss or disaster
  • 100% availability of servers and uptime
  • Fantastic assistance
  • Availability to sign a business associate agreement (BAA) to ensure HIPAA conformity

You can find a thorough (and highly useful) HIPAA compliance checklist on this page.

Below are other related concepts and badges that you should look out for:

 HITECH

The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) law is an up-to-date version of HIPAA which came into enforcement in 2009. If you find something that is HITECH conforming, it's as well HIPAA conforming... as well as there are some.

 HITRUST

Contrary to HIPAA or HITECH, the Health Information Trust Alliance (HITRUST) isn't a law. It's an organization that is widely known that certifies companies for demonstrating HIPAA as well as HITECH compliance.

 CSF HITRUST

The Common Security Framework of HITRUST (CSF) covers international security and privacy rules such as ISO, PCI, and GDPR, which is a global standard for compliance.

 SOC2 and SOC3

Service Organization Control 2 (SOC2) and SOC3 frameworks help verify the reliability of their data center and cloud security measures.

But, there are instances where something is SOC2/3 compliant and is notHIPAA compliant, so watch out!

Three Things You Need to Learn about HIPAA Web Hosting

Prior to jumping onto the next item, it's best off taking a moment to manage expectations.

1. HIPAA Secure Web Hosting Could Be Expensive

HIPAA web hosting has an additional cost than most other hosting solutions. It's due to the fact that HIPAA compliance requires a lot more from web hosts in comparison to the typical shared or VPS hosting service.

The added security comes with a cost.

2. Options are Thin on the Ground

3. Do Your Own Diligence

Just because the service is compliant with the standards for HIPAA compliance doesn't guarantee you'll use it correctly. Did you see anyone wearing a helmet without doing up the straps? It's kind of like that.

Helmet Safety GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

If you mess up your settings, or your internal procedures to handle and transmit PHI don't keep up with HIPAA guidelines, you could still be in violation.

Make sure to do your own due diligence and consult with an expert whenever necessary. In the end, all responsibility for HIPAA compliance comes down to the individual.

5. HIPAA Compliant Website Hosting Service

With the disclaimers out of the way, here are our top 5 HIPAA compliant web hosting services.

#1 - Liquid Web

Reviewers love its reliability and excellent uptime, as well as its prompt customer service, and super fast speeds.

Their slogan is "The Most Humane People hosting", and judging by reviews from their clients, they live up to their claim.

With their assistance their assistance, this process can be made simple and they will help you ensure your website is fully compliant with all HIPAA requirements.

Liquid Web is proudly HIPAA/HITECH certified. It has undergone stringent third-party audits to ensure they " not only meet standards set by the government, but even exceed."

They can provide the complete range - offsite backups, fully operated and fully owned data centers, complete with secured servers, extensive security and more.

Contrary to the other hosting companies that are on this list There's no need go through their website for their HIPPA-compliant services. They're completely transparent on what the service is and what it will cost you.

Pricing starts at $299/month for the standalone HIPAA server and up to $657/month for a multi-server plan.

#2 - Atlantic.Net, Inc.

Atlantic.net, Inc. is another provider that boasts HIPAA compliant hosting. 100 percent uptime for Service level agreements (SLA) with round-the-clock assistance.

Atlantic.Net, Inc. offers the option of fully managed or unmanaged hosting solutions. If you're planning on migrating your existing WordPress site on their HIPAA-certified servers, they'll assist to assist you.

As an expert in hosting compliance, Atlantic.Net, Inc. has refined its setup procedure to make what can be difficult to comprehend, simple.

Atlantic.Net, Inc. has 3 pricing tiers that range from $279.98/month for their quickstart service up all the way to $609.97/month to their HIPAA business edition.

But where they really excel is by providing customized hosting environments for your specific requirements. You'd be better off getting an individual quote from their company.

They also offer a 30-day trial for free so that you are able to check it out prior to making any commitments.

#3 - HIPAA Vault

HIPAA Vault (formerly VM Racks) offers a fully managed and extremely secure WordPress publishing and publishing platforms.

Its name says it all. HIPAA Vault has been specially designed to meet HIPAA Compliance. The company provides customer support 24 hours a day, with a 90% first-call resolution, to make sure everything is functioning as expected.

They also monitor their infrastructure, and make updates frequently to reduce the risk and increase security.

If the price per month of HIPAA-compliant web hosting makes you feel a bit overwhelmed, HIPAA Vault is your ideal choice. Their most sought-after annual agreement works out at just $84/month.

#4 -- Rackspace

Rackspace does not outwardly provide HIPAA-compliant services in packages. But, they do claim to be "HIPAA certified". What do they mean when they say that?

It means upon request, they will be able to ensure they have met all requirements in order to be HIPAA conformity.

The only thing you have to be sure of is ensure that you have signed a BAA with them that is the norm for their customers in the health sector.

If they state that they're prepared and ready, they're really saying it. They are able to serve over the needs of 2,500 healthcare providers, which speaks volumes about their familiarity in HIPAA compliance.

They're HITRUST CSF certified, which means they meet the necessary standards required by HIPAA for private, public and hybrid cloud systems.

To top that, they're additionally Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliant and use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) as well as Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocols.

Do you get lost in the acronyms? Make sure you know that about the transfer and reception of data, they've got it covered.

#5 AWS #5 AWS

Amazon Web Services ( AWS) is an cloud-based service provider (CSP) that also has web hosting options. It has the ability to safely handle, transfer and store PHI. It also allows patients to be able to sign BAAs to ensure they are in compliance with HIPAA. BAA to ensure compliance with HIPAA security measures.

Being that it's an CSP (as opposed to a web hosting provider), AWS isn't eligible to receive HIPAA accreditation. It does however meet all requirements applicable to it.

The company's HIPAA Risk Management program is aligned closely with Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP). The program also conforms to protocols of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST 800-53).

They both have more security standards than HIPAA.

The primary benefit of AWS is its pay-as-you go system that lets you spend the amount you need for the period you use it.

It is different from the fixed monthly pricing structure used by other web hosting providers on our list. It also means you can quit at any moment without losing a dime.

However, AWS is complex to get your head around And, unlike others mentioned that we have mentioned above, their customer support is sketchy.

While some of the companies listed that are on this list provide guidance through the process but don't anticipate similar support from AWS.

Conclusion

In the case of HIPAA-compliant web hosting services There's no shortage of options. These five we've reviewed are among the top out there. The one you pick depends upon your specific needs and preferences.

After you've chosen the ideal choice for you, the enjoyment (and money making!) begins. Through integrations of HIPAA-compliant plugins, you can achieve beyond just providing an online health service.

Create an online community, and offer an exceptional service to your customers now.

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