Enacted in 1996 by the US Congress for the healthcare industry, HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) details the requirements for correctly managing communications containing protected health information that is transmitted electronically over open networks. HIPAA calls for ensuring document confidentiality, integrity, and compliance with HIPAA throughout the organization.
HIPAA strongly recommends organizations authenticate and manage digital identities to protect the confidentiality and integrity of personal health information both on and offline. Electronic signatures based on a mature and proven Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) technology are the best means to protect the integrity of information. In fact, HIPAA requires the protection of integrity "to corroborate that electronically protected health information has not been altered or destroyed in an unauthorized manner".
The CoSign digital signature solution enables compliance with two of the main provisions in HIPAA (the Privacy and Security Regulations). These two provisions address the release of individually identifiable Personal Health Information (PHI) and how the electronic information used by the healthcare industry should be stored, transferred, and used. Read more on how the CoSign digital signature solution allows organizations to comply with HIPAA.
In addition to HIPAA, CoSign enables compliance with the privacy and security requirements of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO).
