Hello, This is Kurt Francom with wpXPRESS (formerly Fiddler Online) and this is one of hundreds of videos where I answer some of the most commonly asked questions related to small business web design.

Today’s question is, “Can I have a HIPAA Compliant form on my website?”

If you’re watching this video and don’t run a clinic, hospital, or any medical-related business, you might find this topic less engaging, but that’s okay! You can look at my face and wonder what I’m talking about.

HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. It is crucial legislation in the United States that establishes national standards for the protection of sensitive patient health information. Essentially, HIPAA aims to ensure that patients’ medical records and other personal health information are kept confidential and secure. Given the sensitive nature of this information, the law imposes strict compliance requirements on healthcare providers, insurers, and their business associates.

As someone who did not enter the medical field, I can appreciate the complexities that come with these regulations. The bottom line is that patients generally don’t want their medical records leaked or accessed by unauthorized individuals. Compliance with HIPAA involves not only maintaining the confidentiality of patient records but also ensuring that the processes and systems used to manage this information are secure and compliant with the law. For this reason, many web developers and business owners choose to avoid dealing with HIPAA compliance, primarily for two reasons: cost and legal liability.

Let’s break this down further. When a local clinic approaches us with a request for a new website, they often express a desire to allow patients to fill out medical forms online before their appointments. This idea may sound efficient and user-friendly, as it eliminates the need for patients to fill out lengthy forms in the waiting room. However, while this may seem like a fantastic solution, we have to consider the implications of HIPAA compliance.

To ensure that an online form is HIPAA compliant, healthcare providers must implement a range of security measures. This includes using secure data storage solutions, encryption, and access controls to protect patient information. Moreover, they must also ensure that any third-party vendors involved in the process comply with HIPAA regulations. Failure to adhere to these requirements can lead to severe penalties, lawsuits, and reputational damage.

While some third-party companies specialize in providing HIPAA-compliant solutions for online forms, we choose not to integrate these services directly into our websites. The primary reason is the extensive maintenance required to keep the website secure and compliant with HIPAA regulations. This means that we would need to lock down our servers and invest significant resources to maintain compliance, which can be cost-prohibitive.

In reality, the costs associated with ensuring HIPAA compliance can quickly add up. Between specialized security measures, ongoing audits, employee training, and potential legal fees, small clinics may find it challenging to afford such compliance without sacrificing other essential services. Therefore, while the concept of having HIPAA-compliant forms on a website is feasible, it requires a significant investment of time, resources, and expertise.

In conclusion, if you’re a medical provider looking to implement HIPAA-compliant forms on your website, it’s essential to thoroughly understand the compliance landscape and work with specialists in this area. While we can help you create a functional and appealing website, the complexities of HIPAA compliance are best left to dedicated professionals who specialize in medical and legal compliance. We advise exploring third-party services that have the necessary expertise to handle patient data securely and comply with all regulations.

So, if you are a clinic that is looking for a website, we can still help you. We have lots of clients that run dentist offices, we have a vet clinic, don’t know if vets are related to HIPAA, and we have other clinics that still have a great website. We just make sure that they know that you can’t have a form on your website that is going to make patient information vulnerable to hackers or people like that. But there are other solutions like making a PDF available that they can fill out at home and bring in prior to the visit and a number of other ways to do it. For more information, here’s a detailed article all about HIPAA compliance.

Want to know what third party vendors can do and make these forms possible for you?

Check out our list of third-party vendors HIPAA compliance. So it does streamline that process. Give it a read and you will know what to do next.