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The Top 5 HIPAA Compliant Web Hosting Services for WordPress

Mar 24, 2023

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Your HIPAA policy manager must get through a checklist for as long as they can to make sure your company is following all regulations.

Failure to adhere to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) rules can result in severe penalty.

The penalty could be jail time and fines of up to $50,000 per offense (up to a max of $1.5 million a year). That's some serious top-tier peril!

For small companies, HIPAA compliance can be especially tough - tough to understand as well asafford. But you're also the ones who can least afford to pay expensive penalty fees.

Don't worry, though. We've got your back.

We've put together a list of solutionsthat'll protect your data as well as secure, while following all the HIPAA guidelines (at least when it comes to zero).

In addition, we'll break down the features that are essential and the certificates needed. So you can verify our workings and sleep easy knowing your data is secure.

Let's go!

Do I Need HIPAA-Compliant Web Hosting?

Even if you're from outside the U.S.

HIPAA is developed to protect the health information (PHI) from Americans, wherever they may be located wherever they are in the world. Therefore, if you're operating a transactions online, HIPAA compliance is your most secure option - no matter your location.

If you're not involved working in the field of healthcare, you'll have to adhere to HIPPA if you handle PHI as part of your service.

As telemedicine is growing in popularity and remote patient monitoring, HIPAA-compliant hosting is more necessary than ever. Indeed, non-compliant internet hosts even prohibit the use of their services by websites subject to HIPAA regulations.

The bottom line is if you are hosting any kind of medical records on your site - from patient records to prescriptions and much more, you must use HIPAA-compliant website hosting.

Here's the reason it's worth it...

The reason to establish an Online Healthcare Business?

You've surely heard of sites like Zocdoc as well as Betterhelp that offer health care providers the opportunity to connect with clients via an online platform.

They're huge and powerful, and may make you feel compelled to avoid the trouble in creating your own web site. However, you should not!

Below are some reasons to consider why creating your own site is the ideal choice...

1. Increased Control of the Ownership of Profits and Assets

Third-party platforms could receive a substantial portion of your revenue. On top of that it is common to pay membership fees. The organization is also free to modify fees or terms and conditions at the moment of need.

Seth Meyers Lol GIF by Late Night with Seth Meyers - Find & Share on GIPHY

As an example, Zocdoc recently changed its fees from a flat yearly rate of $3000 per company. Now, Zocdoc healthcare providers are required to be paid a flat amount for each new patient booking in addition to an annual licensing fee.

The more you do business via third-party platforms more at risk you become. This isn't any sense in terms of business.

2. Build an Intimate Community of patients

By using WordPress as well  other platforms, you get more control over the pricing. However, you'll also have the ability to create a community around your service.

The patients appreciate the personal touch provided by the healthcare professional they are able to call whenever they have a need.

In addition, you can upload extra materials like resources or advice for your patients to easily use and reference.

For example, customer New Hope Counseling & Wellness Center provides therapies and counseling services on their site.

They are also frequently uploading content that can help support their community of survivors of eating disorders and trauma.

3. Maximize Recurring Revenue

Recurring revenue is a stream of revenue that is repeated regularly. Subscription-based services can be a good instance of recurring revenues. This revenue model is more stable and predictable than single-time payment.

Here are some ideas for recurring income ideas for healthcare which you could offer through your WordPress site. They include :

Sell ongoing appointments as subscriptions

Give your patients a monthly payment option for spreading the cost of their treatment or ongoing appointments.

The cost of a subscription on a consistent basis could aid in motivating patients to keep up with regular appointments and treatments. Patients will feel more responsibility to avail the services they pay for.

In addition, having a monthly payment option can assist in making healthcare accessible to patients who have difficulty paying large sums upfront.

This could increase the satisfaction of patients and their loyalty which will ultimately result in healthier outcomes for patients.

Make treatment classes

Develop treatment programs that can help your patients supplement their treatment at home.

If you're a physical therapist, perhaps, you could develop a program that incorporates more advanced exercises to aid your patients' recovery.

As a physician of primary care can you put together a course on how to deal with the type 2 form of diabetes.

As a mental health practitioner, you could create courses to help individuals manage their moods, or develop a mindfulness practice.

These courses can be tied. As an example, a base subscription gives access to a four-week online course. A pro subscription granting access to personalized appointment via telehealth.

Set up a paywalled resource hub

Develop a library of resources that your patients can access by registering for a subscription. It could be a collection of information sheets or meal plans, pertinent articles, and videos The possibilities are limitless!

Patients will be able to access all the information they need to complement their treatments at a single location, making it simpler for them to remain engaged and motivated throughout their appointments.

makes recurring revenue a doddle

Whatever you have in mind to your site, this is the best WordPress membership plugin that will bring your idea into reality.

Develop tiered subscriptions and paywall-based content, and control telehealth appointments all directly from your website.

It is compatible with more than 5000 platforms, add-ons and platforms. This includes the following add-ons to aid you with HIPAA compliance:

4. It's Much Simpler Than You Think

Do not let the jargon of online security scare you off. When you have the right provider and some sound expert advice, it's easy to navigate HIPAA procedures and design an impressive web site.

Before that, you must take a look at this article to discover the top web hosting company for you.

Necessary Features for HIPAA-Compliant Web Hosting

To ensure HIPAA conformity it is necessary to have a number of necessary features and certifications the web hosting service you use should have in place. The following are required:

  • Advanced firewalls
  • Monitoring security and malware scanning
  • Multi-factor authentication
  • VPNs that are encrypted (VPNs) ensure secure cloud access and electronically private health information (ePHI) in transit
  • Extra secure SSL/TLS encryption to protect the storage of information
  • Physically secure server locations in HIPAA-approved data centers
  • Audit logs to monitor HIPAA-regulated processes and access to information
  • Backup of data and off-site storage
  • Resistance to recovery of data in the event catastrophe or loss
  • 100% server availability and uptime
  • Excellent assistance
  • Ability to sign a Business associate agreement (BAA) assuring HIPAA conformity

It is possible to find a complete (and highly useful) HIPAA compliance checklist here.

Below are additional terms and badges worth looking out for:

 HITECH

The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) act is an updated version of HIPAA that was enacted in 2009. If you find something that is HITECH compatible, it's also HIPAA compatible... and certain.

 HiTRUST

Unlike HIPAA or HITECH however, it is not a law. Health Information Trust Alliance (HITRUST) is not a law. It's a well-known organization that certifies organizations for their HIPAA and HITECH compliance.

 HITRUST CSF

The Common Security Framework of HITRUST (CSF) is a global security framework that covers and privacy regulations including ISO, PCI, and GDPR, which is a global standard for compliance.

 SOC2 as well SOC3

Service Organization Control 2 (SOC2) and SOC3 frameworks help verify the reliability of their data center and cloud security security.

However, something can be SOC2/3-compliant but it isn'tHIPAA compatible So be aware!

Three Things You Need to Learn About HIPAA Web Hosting

Before we hop to the list, we're best off taking a moment to control expectations.

1. HIPAA Secure Web Hosting Could Cost a Lot

HIPAA web hosting has an additional cost over other hosting options. This is because HIPAA compliance demands a lot more from web hosts in comparison to the typical VPS or shared hosting.

The added security comes with an expense.

2. There are fewer options on the ground

3. Do Your Own Diligence

The fact that the provider that you're using meets the requirements for HIPAA Compliance doesn't mean that the service will be used correctly. Have you ever seen someone wearing an unfit helmet and not adjust the straps? It's kind of like that.

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If you mess up your settings, or if your internal processes to handle and transmit PHI do not comply with HIPAA rules, you may be still in breach.

Do the necessary research and get expert advice whenever necessary. The responsibility to ensure HIPAA compliance rests with you.

5. HIPAA Compliant web hosting services

Once the disclaimers are in place, here are our top 5 HIPAA-compliant web hosting providers.

#1 - Liquid Web

The majority of reviewers praise its reliability, great uptime, its responsive customer support, as well as its super speedy speeds.

Their slogan is "The most helpful human beings hosting" Based on their customer reviews, they live up to their motto.

With their help, the process is simple and they will help you ensure your website completely meets HIPAA guidelines.

Liquid Web is proudly HIPAA/HITECH certified. The company has been through rigorous audits by third parties to ensure their compliance with " not only meet the guidelines of government, but also exceed them."

They offer the full gamut of offsite backups, completely managed and wholly owned core data centers that are secured with server cabinets, extensive safeguarding, and much more.

Unlike other hosting providers on this list, you don't need to scour their website for their HIPPA-compliant services. They're fully transparent about what their service entails and what it will cost you.

Pricing starts at $299/month for an individual HIPAA server and up to $657/month when you purchase a multi-server solution.

#2 - Atlantic.Net, Inc.

Atlantic.net, Inc. is another service provider who boasts HIPAA compliant hosting. an 100% uptime Service level agreements (SLA) with round-the-clock assistance.

Atlantic.Net, Inc. offers completely managed as well as non-managed hosting options. In the event that you are planning moving your existing WordPress website on their HIPAA-certified server, they'll help you with that too.

As a specialist in compliance hosting, Atlantic.Net, Inc. has refined the setup process in order to make what could be an intimidating experience simple.

Atlantic.Net, Inc. has 3 pricing tiers ranging between $279.98/month for their quickstart solution and up all the way to $609.97/month for their HIPAA business edition.

The area where they are truly excelling is in offering tailored hosting environments for your specific needs. You'd be better off getting a custom quote from them.

They also offer a 30-day trial at no cost so you can check it out prior to making any commitments.

#3 - HIPAA Vault

HIPAA Vault (formerly VM Racks) is a fully-managed and secured WordPress publishing platform.

Its name says it all. HIPAA Vault has been made specifically for HIPAA compliance. The company provides customer support 24 hours a day, with 90% of first-call resolution that ensures everything's functioning as expected.

They also monitor their infrastructure, and make updates regularly to mitigate risk and beef up security.

If the cost/month of HIPAA-compliant web hosting has you reeling, HIPAA Vault is your ideal choice. The most well-known annual plan works out at just $84/month.

#4 - Rackspace

Rackspace isn't announcing that they offer HIPAA compliant services as a package. However, they declare themselves to be "HIPAA certified". What do they mean when they say"HIPAA ready?

Well, it means that upon request, they will be able to ensure they meet all necessary specifications in order to be HIPAA conformity.

The only thing you have be doing is be sure to sign a BAA with them that is normal for clients of the health sector.

When they claim they're ready and ready, they're really saying it. They reliably serve the needs of 2,500 healthcare providers, which is a testimony to their experience in HIPAA compliance.

They're HITRUST CSF accredited that means they're in compliance with the requirements of HIPAA for public, private and hybrid cloud systems.

To top that, they're also Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) in compliance and employ Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) as well as Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocols.

Getting lost in the jargon? Just know when it comes to the transfer and reception of data, they've got you covered.

#5 5 AWS

Amazon Web Services ( AWS) is an cloud-based service provider (CSP) which also offers web hosting options. It can securely manage, store, and transfer PHI. It also allows patients to be able to sign BAAs to ensure they are in compliance with HIPAA. BAA in order to be compliant with HIPAA safeguards.

Being that it's an CSP (as instead of a web hosting provider), AWS isn't eligible to receive HIPAA certification. It does however meet all requirements applicable to it.

The company's HIPAA risk management policy is in line with the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP). Also, it is compliant with the procedures that are provided by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST 800-53).

They both have more levels of security over HIPAA.

The main advantage of using AWS is its pay-as-you-go system which means that you only spend the amount you use for the time that you are using it.

This differs from the fixed-monthly pricing system used by other hosts we list. This also allows you to quit at any moment without paying a cent.

But, AWS is complex to comprehend as well, and in contrast to the others mentioned that we have mentioned above, their support for customers is not as clear..

Although other companies on this list offer guidance throughout the process but don't anticipate similar support from AWS.

Conclusion

If you're looking for websites hosting with HIPAA compliance, there's no shortage of options. The five that we've listed here are some of the best that are available. Which one you choose depends on your individual requirements and personal preferences.

Once you've found the best solution for your needs then the fun (and earning money!) begins. With plus integrations with the HIPAA compliant software, you will be able to accomplish more than simply provide the telehealth services.

Begin to build an online community, and offer an exceptional service to your customers now.

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Do you have any questions concerning HIPAA compliant web hosting? Tell us in the section of comments below!