GLOSSARY
HIPAA Risk Assessment
Terms
What is a HIPAA risk assessment?
The objective of a HIPAA risk assessment is to identify potential risks and vulnerabilities to the confidentiality, availability, and integrity of all protected health information (PHI) that an organization creates, receives, maintains, or transmits.
The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) does not specify a particular risk analysis methodology because covered entities and business associates vary in size, complexity, and capabilities. To meet the objective of a HIPAA risk assessment, HHS suggests an organization should:
- Identify where PHI is stored, received, maintained, or transmitted
- Identify and document potential threats and vulnerabilities
- Assess current security measures used to safeguard PHI
- Assess the proper usage of existing security measures
- Determine the likelihood of a reasonably anticipated threat
- Determine the potential impact of a breach of PHI
- Assign risk levels for vulnerability and impact combinations
- Document the assessment and take action where necessary
HIPAA risk assessments are not a one-time event; they require periodic reviews when introducing new technology or implementing new work practices.
Vanta is the easy way to get SOC 2, HIPAA, or ISO 27001 compliant. Over 2,000 fast-growing companies trust Vanta to automate their security monitoring and get ready for security audits in weeks instead of months. Simply connect your tools to Vanta, fix the gaps on your dashboard, and then work with a Vanta-trained auditor to complete your audit. We'll guide you throughout the process and help tailor your security monitoring and compliance to meet the needs of you and your customers. Vanta was founded in 2016 and headquartered in San Francisco.
