{"id":34199,"date":"2023-09-17T17:25:58","date_gmt":"2023-09-17T17:25:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/danielsmarketingblc.com\/CuratedProducts\/?p=34199"},"modified":"2023-09-17T17:25:59","modified_gmt":"2023-09-17T17:25:59","slug":"private-cloud-vs-dedicated-selecting-hipaa-hosting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/danielsmarketingblc.com\/CuratedProducts\/2023\/09\/17\/private-cloud-vs-dedicated-selecting-hipaa-hosting\/","title":{"rendered":"Private Cloud vs Dedicated: Selecting HIPAA Hosting"},"content":{"rendered":"

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While selecting the form of hosting your organization needs is complicated enough by itself, if what you are promoting requires HIPAA compliance, the query becomes much more complex.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Using dedicated servers has been the default option for corporations that must make sure that all HIPAA regulations are followed for a very long time. But with the increasing popularity of the cloud, especially its flexibility and scalability<\/a>, more businesses began to wonder if the cloud environment could possibly be used with the identical level of safety and HIPAA compliance as traditional dedicated servers.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The reply is yes. But as there are just a few specifics to contemplate, we should always first review what HIPAA compliance is and the way it pertains to each dedicated and cloud servers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

What’s HIPAA Compliance?\u00a0<\/h2>\n
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HIPAA<\/a> (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) is a law that regulates using PHI (protected health information) in america. PHI refers to any identifiable details about a patient, from their name and date of birth to their social security number, address, phone number, etc.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Any company that handles PHI must follow HIPAA regulations, including healthcare providers, insurance firms, and other businesses within the healthcare supply chain. It\u2019s also required that corporations make sure that their business associates (e.g., hosting providers) follow HIPAA regulations as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Basically, HIPAA regulations relate to the privacy of knowledge and the safety against breaches. Businesses have strict limits on how PHI data will be used and should safeguard it against reasonably anticipated threats.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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So what does it mean for dedicated and cloud servers?\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Are Dedicated Servers HIPAA Compliant?\u00a0<\/h3>\n
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HIPAA doesn\u2019t specify which particular server setup corporations should use. Nonetheless, using a dedicated server is the best approach to satisfy HIPAA security requirements.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A dedicated server<\/a> provides an isolated environment. Because of this, your infrastructure shouldn’t be shared with anyone, reducing attack surfaces, making it easier to configure a secure firewall, and helping control authentication points.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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When selecting a dedicated server, you will have probably the most freedom in choosing hardware, software, and an operating system. It’s also possible to add cloud functionality<\/a> for increased scalability without sharing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Is Private Cloud HIPAA Compliant?\u00a0<\/h3>\n
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Once you host your website or application within the cloud, a set of distant servers is pooled together for computing and storage. With a public cloud, that set of resources is shared; in a non-public cloud, they aren’t.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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HIPAA compliance is far easier to realize on a private cloud<\/a> because it allows for more granular control over the infrastructure and security measures. As well as, physically isolating the environment from other tenants makes HIPAA audits easier.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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That said, not every little thing throughout the private cloud environment is the hosting provider’s responsibility. For instance, they could handle the hardware, hypervisor, and operating system updates, but every little thing in the appliance layer is probably going as much as the client.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Normally, the private cloud provider would handle management and secure support systems:\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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