When the new HIPAA Omnibus rule was unveiled, Kathleen Sebelius, the HHS Secretary stated that the healthcare sector has changed considerably since the first HIPAA rule was enacted 15 years ago, and hence the new rule is expected to protect the health information of patients and safeguard their privacy in this ever expanding digital age. However, achieving compliance with this final HIPAA rule is expected to be a highly time-consuming process.

The Estimations

The notice published in the Federal Register breaks down the time that will be spent for each function as follows:

This notice, which was submitted in compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 for approval by the Office of Management and Budget, further states that approximately 619,000 hours will be spent on ‘new burdens’ associated with the HIPAA Omnibus rule, most of which will be repeated annually.

With the audit program set to begin soon, IT security experts recommend that healthcare providers be prepared with documentation collected in a central location. A solution like Aegify Security Posture Management or Aegify SecureGRC can help healthcare providers to prepare themselves well ahead of the audit and successfully demonstrate compliance. But more importantly, these platforms can help them dramatically bring down the time spent on each of the above-listed functions with built-in frameworks and best practices for HIPAA Omnibus compliance, thus optimizing the time spent on compliance and adding great value to their organizations.

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