Can You Create a HIPAA-Compliant Healthcare Websites with WordPress?

Do you know what’s the first thing a visitor will check when they land on a healthcare website? It will probably be the brand’s ability to ensure data protection and adherence to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) rules. There are almost 6,120 hospitals in America. Most of them will have a website. That means you’ll have to compete with them by offering optimal security and compliance with industry standards. Thankfully, you’ve selected WordPress as the web content management system to create your website. Around 62.7% of all websites are created using this platform. But how do you make the healthcare website HIPAA-compliant while using WordPress? In this blog post, we’ll discuss HIPAA-compliant healthcare Websites, essential security measures, some WordPress plugins, and more.

Wordpres care plan
WordPress care plan

What Do You Mean by HIPAA Compliance in Website Development?

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, HIPAA rules have set national standards for protecting certain health information. It establishes guidelines to keep sensitive patient data safe from breaches. As a result, this standard ensures that any electronic protected health information (PHI) remains secure and accessible to the organization.

Compliance with HIPAA rules requires physical, technical, and administrative safeguards that help maintain integrity, availability, and confidentiality. This will include the following:

  • Secure transmission of data
  • Regular risk assessments
  • Stringent access control
  • Proper encryption

You can build a solid foundation for your website if you understand these fundamental requirements. Based on that, you can use WordPress to create one that is compliant with legal standards and protects privacy.

Also Read: How Outsourcing is Reshaping Healthcare Management

What WordPress Plugins Do You Need for Security?

How to Install Plugins in WordPress

Last year, Banner Health settled for USD 1.25 million after being accused of violating a HIPAA security rule. Similarly, New England Dermatology had to pay a USD 300,640 HIPAA penalty for improper disposal of PHI results.

These two instances should be enough to understand that you shouldn’t meddle with HIPAA regulations.

That’s why you need to collaborate with experienced WordPress developers and discuss your security-related requirements for website development with them. Hence, you can ensure that your website isn’t using the wrong plugins or tools. To meet HIPAA compliance standards, these professionals will use the following plugins:

  • WP 2FA
  • iThemes Security
  • HIPAA Gauge

Apart from these, the specialized developers will choose a WordPress plugin for security, SSL, backups, encryption, audits, etc. Industry leaders also mention that form plugins like Ninja and Gravity can help if your website is collecting health information data.

4 Essential Security Measures to Take When Designing a Healthcare Website on WordPress

Healthcare Website

According to Flamingo Agency, HIPAA-compliant websites implement robust security measures that help protect sensitive patient data from unauthorized access. Moreover, the key security elements that you must follow for WordPress websites include the following:

  • Secure the healthcare website with SSL certificates, which will help ensure encrypted data transfers.
  • Choose a reliable hosting provider to help keep your organization’s data and visitors’ information protected.
  • Use data encryption techniques to help keep the stored information secure from breaches.
  • Regularly audit security patches and keep everything updated to help fix and identify vulnerabilities.

Other than these, your WordPress healthcare website can use multi-factor authentication (MFA) and other access control features to reduce PHI breaches. These critical security practices will help make your website HIPAA-compliant, as it will meet all regulatory standards.

If you hire a WordPress developer, chances are they will handle and implement all these security measures.

Also Read: Top 10 Healthcare SEO Tips to Increase Patient Engagement

6 Best Practices to Help Healthcare Websites With Data Handling

Once the healthcare website is HIPAA-compliant, you need to keep maintaining it. For this, you must implement stringent measures that help ensure the confidentiality of the PHI. The best practices for this include the following:

  • Secure data transmission and storage with encrypted servers and SSL certificates.
  • Implement user authentication requirements to ensure role-based access control.
  • Regular updates will be needed to meet user preferences and keep the WordPress website updated and secure.
  • Enforce data retention policies by collecting only the minimum and necessary data to perform healthcare services.
  • Invest in employee training to help enhance security awareness about HIPAA compliance on WordPress websites.
  • Purge unnecessary data to reduce risk exposure and content clutter in the backend.

Offering a HIPAA-compliant healthcare website is important if you want to build trust among patients and visitors. This multi-faceted approach requires a strict understanding of regulatory standards and the implementation of security measures. With regular audits, continuous updates, and maintenance, you can ensure an enhanced user experience.

Thankfully, you can hire a web design company for WordPress development with HIPAA compliance for your healthcare website. Remember to follow and leverage the right tools to create a user-friendly design that protects sensitive patient data.


Interesting Reads:

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Ultimate Guide To Healthcare SEO

Healthcare Website Development Services

Understanding The Roles And Benefits Of Learning Management Systems In Healthcare Industry

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