Healthcare organizations often outsource many HIPAA transactions to third-party vendors, yet finding suitable companies that can provide the necessary services can be a time-consuming process. While there is unlikely to be a shortage of companies that could perform those transactions, in order for any third-party firm to be used by a HIPAA-covered entity, they must agree to comply with HIPAA Rules.
If a vendor is required to be provided with access to data covered by HIPAA Rules, the vendor is classed as a HIPAA business associate and must sign a business associate agreement and comply with the HIPAA Security, Privacy, and Breach Notification Rules.
While it may be relatively straightforward to find HIPAA-compliant medical billing and collection firms, it can be a time-consuming process to find software and app developers, hosting firms, and cloud storage firms. Until now, the process of finding suitable vendors has been a time-consuming and often frustrating process.
However, this week, a new platform has been launched that helps healthcare organizations find vendors that support HIPAA compliance, are willing to sign business associate agreements, and provide products and services that can be used without fear of violating HIPAA Rules.
The HIPAA Alliance Marketplace is a closed ecosystem that only contains third-party vendors that have all the necessary controls and safeguards in place to comply with HIPAA Rules.
The HIPAA Alliance Marketplace was founded by the Compliancy Group, which audits all prospective vendors prior to inclusion in the listings. Only vendors that have been verified as HIPAA compliant are included and issued with the HIPAA Seal of Compliance.
The HIPAA Alliance Marketplace already includes insurers, IT service providers, EHRs, hosting firms, software and app developers, medical billing and collection firms, printing and mailing vendors, practice management and patient engagement solution providers, and HIPAA compliance specialists.
For healthcare organizations, the benefits of signing up to use the HIPAA Alliance Marketplace is clear. Since all vendors are trusted and verified as compliant with HIPAA Rules, finding a service provider, software platform, or product just requires a quick search, saving healthcare organizations valuable time and money.
Vendors also benefit from inclusion in the listings. The Marketplace helps them connect with healthcare providers, stand out from their competitors, and open up new segments of the healthcare market.
