A HIPAA consultant facilitates healthcare providers, payers, and business associates healthcare to US HIPAA compliance by developing and implementing policies, procedures, and practices that are in harmony with Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules concerning ePHI.
They prepare policies and other documents including definitions of these concepts and conduct risk assessments, gap analyses, and policy development to identify where security vulnerabilities exist and which security measures are needed. They also provide training to employees to ensure compliance and minimize errors.
Consultants do more than set policies as they provide guidance on ePHI encryption, access restrictions, intrusion detection systems (IDS), and breach response. These specialist trusts assist management in adopting best practices for compliance, risk management, and minimizing exposure to penalties in a most effective manner.