This is a friendly reminder that we are not attorneys, and this Guide to Achieving HIPAA Compliance with HubSpot not be interpreted as legal advice. Please seek your legal counsel for all compliance matters. Additionally, HIPAA compliance does not necessarily mean compliance with all relevant data privacy or protection regulations.
Is HubSpot HIPAA Compliant? HubSpot’s New HIPAA Feature
HubSpot has just announced that its platform is now HIPAA compliant, which is significant for businesses in regulated industries. However, while HubSpot’s platform includes HIPAA-compliant features, it is not intended for creating, collecting, storing, or transmitting protected health information (PHI) by a HIPAA-covered entity or business associate. Healthcare, finance, and insurance companies can now manage and protect sensitive customer data in HubSpot’s Smart CRM, ensuring compliance with HIPAA for managing individually identifiable health information and other PHI.
Why Sensitive Data Matters
Managing and using sensitive data is critical to business success. However, with strict data protection regulations, industries like healthcare, finance, human services, and insurance have unique challenges. For years, these sectors have used a patchwork of point solutions to manage compliance and data, resulting in siloed teams and disjointed customer experiences. HubSpot’s new HIPAA features provide a single solution so you can streamline, engage, and grow.
Healthcare
The healthcare industry will benefit significantly from HubSpot’s HIPAA compliance. Healthcare providers, from large hospital systems to small clinics, can now store electronically protected health information (ePHI) in HubSpot’s Smart CRM. This means automated workflows, closed-loop reporting, and personalized marketing campaigns, all while being HIPAA compliant.
Finance and Insurance Companies
HubSpot’s commitment to security and compliance goes beyond healthcare. Finance and insurance companies handling sensitive customer data can benefit from HubSpot’s data protection. These industries are critical to the economy, and their ability to manage and use customer data is crucial to their growth. According to IDC research, the total addressable market (TAM) for marketing, sales, and service in these industries is over $30 billion today and will be over $50 billion by 2028.
Go-to-Market with HubSpot
With HubSpot’s HIPAA features, businesses in regulated industries can store and manage sensitive customer data with confidence and compliance. This makes HubSpot a top solution for businesses that require strict data protection and privacy, which means more efficient and effective operations for enterprise customers across all industries.
What is HIPAA?
Definition and Overview of HIPAA
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a U.S. federal law passed in 1996 that sets the standard for protecting patient data. Any company that handles protected health information (PHI) must have all required physical, network, electronic form, and process security measures in place and followed. HIPAA compliance is critical for healthcare providers, health plans, and healthcare clearinghouses, collectively known as covered entities and their business associates. These covered entity healthcare providers, health plans, and clearinghouses must comply with HIPAA rules around using and disclosing protected health information.
HIPAA Provisions
HIPAA has several key provisions that impact the privacy rules and how businesses manage and protect sensitive data:
Privacy Rule: Sets national standards for individually identifiable health information.
Security Rule: Sets standards for electronic protected health information (ePHI).
Breach Notification Rule: Requires covered entities and business associates to notify following a breach of unsecured PHI.
Enforcement Rule: Sets standards for all the Administrative Simplification Rules.
Why HIPAA Compliance Matters for Businesses
HIPAA compliance is critical for businesses that frequently handle sensitive patient data. Non-compliance can mean considerable penalties, including fines and criminal charges. Common HIPAA violations include unauthorized access to patient records, not conducting risk assessments, and not encrypting sensitive data. Maintaining HIPAA compliance also helps build trust with patients and customers by showing you’re committed to protecting their privacy and sensitive information. HIPAA compliance is a legal requirement for businesses in regulated data and industries and is part of their overall data protection strategy.
Industries Impacted by HIPAA
HIPAA Compliance with HubSpot – Healthcare
HIPAA rules apply to the healthcare industry. Healthcare providers, including hospitals, clinics, and individual practitioners, must comply with HIPAA regulations to protect patient information. This means implementing security measures to protect electronic health records (EHRs), medical records, and other PHI.
HIPAA Compliance with HubSpot – Finance
While HIPAA is focused on the healthcare industry, financial institutions covered entities that service healthcare organizations must also comply with its rules. This is especially true for entities that process PHI transactions, such as health insurance companies and payment processors.
HIPAA Compliance with HubSpot -Insurance
Insurance companies, especially those that offer group health plan and insurance, are also subject to HIPAA rules. They must ensure that any PHI they handle is protected according to HIPAA standards. This means implementing secure systems for managing claims, customer records, group health plans, and other sensitive information.
HubSpot’s New HIPAA Features
About HubSpot’s Smart CRM
HubSpot’s Smart CRM is a customer relationship management platform designed to help businesses manage customer data. With HIPAA compliance, HubSpot has added more security and privacy features to its CRM, making it ready for use in regulated industries.
HubSpot HIPAA
HubSpot HIPAA includes:
Audit Logging: Data access and modifications tracking.
Advanced Authentication: Multi-factor authentication and more to ensure only authorized users can access sensitive data.
Session Timeout: Automatic session termination after inactivity to prevent unauthorized access.
Per-Tenant Encryption: Data encrypted in transit and at rest.
HubSpot’s security and privacy features meet HIPAA requirements:
Data Encryption: All PHI is encrypted in transit and at rest.
Access Controls: Strict access controls allow only authorized personnel to access sensitive data.
Regular Audits: Regular audits and assessments to ensure ongoing HIPAA compliance.
HubSpot for Compliance and Marketing
Automation for Compliance and Marketing Teams
HubSpot’s HIPAA features allow compliance and marketing teams to automate workflows with sensitive data. This means automating lead gen, segmenting audiences, and sending targeted marketing campaigns while remaining HIPAA compliant.
Customer Data Management
HubSpot offers a single platform for customer data management by integrating HIPAA-compliant data management into its Smart CRM. This gives businesses a 360-degree view of their customers, enabling them to deliver more personalized experiences and better customer engagement.
Better Customer Experiences
With the ability to securely manage and use sensitive data, businesses can create more relevant and personalized customer experiences. HubSpot’s features allow companies to store and use sensitive data to power their go-to-market strategies and drive better customer relationships and growth.
Unifying Data in HubSpot for Healthcare Companies
Impact of a 360-degree View of the Customer in Healthcare
A 360-degree view of the customer is compelling in the healthcare industry. Healthcare providers can improve patient care and operations by bringing patient data into one place. HubSpot’s Smart CRM allows for HIPAA-compliant data storage so healthcare teams can coordinate better and communicate more effectively with patients.
B2B Healthcare Companies and Care Providers
B2B healthcare companies and providers can simplify workflows using HubSpot’s HIPAA features. For B2B companies, this means better client relationships and more effective marketing. It means better patient care through data management and automated workflows for care providers.
Sensitive Data Across Regulated Industries
Lead gen with consented sensitive data.
Marketers in regulated industries can generate more leads by collecting sensitive data from customers who consent to use it. This includes data collected from website forms or product orders. HubSpot ensures this data is handled securely so you can run targeted campaigns and segments without compromising compliance.
Secure Audience Segmentation and Automation
HubSpot’s HIPAA features allow businesses to segment audiences and automate marketing without needing workarounds that compromise security. Marketers can now run targeted campaigns and manage customer data while adhering to data privacy regulations.
Personalized prospecting for sales reps
Sales reps have a 360-degree view of prospects, enabling more personalized and relevant conversations. HubSpot’s Smart CRM stores sensitive data securely, allowing sales reps to build stronger relationships and better pipelines. This customized approach to prospecting drives business growth.
Single customer records for service teams
Service teams can create a single customer record by storing sensitive data required for service delivery. This includes booking and modifying travel itineraries, patient records, and customer inquiries. HubSpot’s features ensure all interactions are tracked and managed securely, improving service delivery and customer satisfaction.
HubSpot’s Security and Compliance Features
Audit Logging
HubSpot has comprehensive audit logging, which tracks all data access and modifications. This is critical for HIPAA compliance, as it records who accessed what data and when. Audit logs help identify breaches and accountability.
Advanced Authentication
HubSpot uses advanced authentication features, such as multi-factor authentication (MFA), to protect sensitive data. MFA adds an extra layer of security by requiring users to provide two or more verification factors to log in. This reduces the risk of unauthorized access and allows only authorized users to access sensitive data.
Inactive session timeout and security recommendations
HubSpot has an inactive session timeout. If a user forgets to log out, sessions will automatically terminate after inactivity. HubSpot also provides security recommendations to help you stay compliant and protect sensitive data.
Per-Tenant Application-Level Encryption
HubSpot’s per-tenant application-level encryption ensures data is encrypted in transit and at rest. This means sensitive data is always protected, whether transmitted between systems or stored in HubSpot’s CRM. Encryption is critical for HIPAA compliance to protect data from unauthorized access and breaches.
How to enable HIPAA-protected sensitive data in HubSpot
A step-by-step guide to enabling HIPAA compliance
Enabling HIPAA compliance in HubSpot involves several steps. First, users must opt into the HubSpot HIPAA-compliant beta program and navigate to the Privacy & Consent settings to accept the terms and conditions. Then, they can specify the categories of sensitive data they will store, including health and medical data.
Creating and managing HIPAA properties in HubSpot
Once HIPAA compliance is enabled, users can create and manage HIPAA properties in HubSpot. These properties work like other data properties but are marked as HIPAA, so you know they store HIPAA-protected data. Users can customize these properties to fit their needs so all sensitive data is managed securely and HIPAA-compliant.
Building a healthcare data model in HubSpot
Custom objects for healthcare departments, patients, and tests
HubSpot’s CRM allows healthcare organizations to create custom objects to fit their needs. This includes objects for healthcare departments, patients, and tests so you can build a data model that fits your operational needs. Custom objects can help manage various aspects of patient care, such as patient histories, appointments, and test results.
Using OOTB objects for healthcare operations
In addition to custom objects, HubSpot’s out-of-the-box (OOTB) objects can be used for healthcare operations. For example:
Contacts: Patient, doctor, nurse information
Companies: Office locations and parent/child relationships
Tickets: Patient support requests (medical questions, billing inquiries, prescription refills)
Deals: Appointments, insurance claims, payments
Patient Portals for Healthcare Providers
Benefits for healthcare providers
Patient portals offer many benefits for prospective patient and healthcare providers, including a more personalized and efficient patient experience. Through HubSpot, providers can create secure portals for patients to access their health information 24/7. This encourages patient engagement in their care, better health outcomes, and patient satisfaction.
Patient Portal features in HubSpot.
HubSpot’s patient portals can have features such wellness information such as:
Medical Records: Patients can view their health records and lab results
Appointment Scheduling: Patients can book, reschedule or cancel appointments online
Test Results: Patients can view test results immediately
Request Records: Patients can request their medical records easily
Appointment Scheduling and Automation
Custom CRM Card for appointment scheduling
HubSpot’s custom CRM card makes appointment scheduling easy for healthcare teams. Staff can book appointments directly from the patient record, streamlining the scheduling process. Appointment details are recorded accurately and quickly accessible.
Automation for appointment confirmations and reminders
Automation in HubSpot allows clinics to send automated SMS and email reminders for appointment confirmations and reminders. This reduces no-shows and lets patients manage their appointments better. Computerized reminders keep patients informed about upcoming appointments and overall experience.
Tracking the appointment lifecycle with deal pipelines
HubSpot’s deal pipelines can track the entire appointment lifecycle from booking to confirmation to insurance claims to billing. This means every process step is visible and manageable in the clinic.
Better Communication for better care
Single patient record for better care
Consolidating patient Communication in HubSpot gives you a holistic view of each patient. This means all care team members have access to the latest information. Single records streamline patient interactions and care coordination.
Automated patient check-ins and personalized follow-ups
HubSpot allows for automated patient check-ins and personalized follow-up communications. By sending messages based on patient history and preferences, healthcare providers can have continuous and personalized patient interactions, automating patient engagement and satisfaction.
Team updates
Automatic updates in HubSpot keep all relevant healthcare and team members informed about patient care plans. This includes sharing approved care plans with medical professionals and family members so everyone is on the same page. This updates Communication and collaboration among the health care and team and improves patient outcomes.
Building billing and insurance processes in HubSpot
Insurance and billing with deal pipelines
HubSpot’s deal pipelines are a powerful tool for managing insurance and billing. They allow healthcare organizations to track and automate insurance claims and billing, reducing administrative work and errors. This means timely payments and efficient financial processes.
Payments with HubSpot payments and invoices
HubSpot’s payments and invoices features simplify the payment process for patients and staff covered healthcare providers. By simplifying payments, healthcare organizations can improve patient satisfaction and free up staff to focus on delivering care.
Billing communication with automation
HubSpot’s automation features automate billing communication by sending reminders and simplifying the payment process. This reduces missed payments and improves operational efficiency. Automated billing communications inform patients about their financial responsibilities and overall billing experience.
Patient experience
Patient data collection with HubSpot forms
HubSpot forms make collecting patient intake forms, medical histories, and other essential data easy. By collecting detailed patient information, healthcare providers can create personalized treatment plans and tailor promotions to each patient’s health information and needs, improving patient experience and care.
Personalization with audience segmentation
HubSpot’s audience segmentation allows healthcare providers to create highly targeted campaigns based on form-fill responses, patient history, and individual preferences. Personalized messages and offers increase patient engagement, satisfaction, and loyalty to group health plans.
Retain clients with special offers and packages.
Designing special offers and custom packages with HubSpot can retain clients. Tailored promotions meet clients’ specific needs and preferences and build stronger relationships and growth. Personalization is critical to turning happy patients into loyal, repeat clients.
HubSpot’s New HIPAA Features and Managing Data in Regulated Industries Summaries
HubSpot’s new HIPAA compliance features are changing the game for regulated industries. HubSpot enables healthcare, finance, and insurance businesses to simplify their operations, improve customer experience, and grow by providing a more secure solution and single platform for sensitive customer data. With robust security and privacy features, HubSpot’s Smart CRM is now an even more powerful tool for businesses that require high data protection.
HubSpot HIPAA Compliant FAQs
What is HIPAA, and why is it important?
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a U.S. federal law passed in 1996 to protect patient data. It sets national standards for health information and requires healthcare providers, health plans, and other entities that handle patient data to have strict security and privacy measures. HIPAA compliance protects patient privacy from security risks and avoids hefty fines and legal consequences.
How does HubSpot ensure HIPAA compliance?
HubSpot ensures HIPAA compliance through various security and privacy features, including full audit logging, advanced authentication, inactive session timeout, and per-tenant encryption. These features protect sensitive data like individually identifiable health information and ensure it is handled according to HIPAA regulations. HubSpot now has options to securely store and manage protected health information (PHI).
Which industries benefit from HubSpot’s new features?
Healthcare, finance, and insurance are the industries that benefit most from HubSpot’s new HIPAA compliance features. These industries handle sensitive customer data and are subject to high data protection regulations. HubSpot’s robust security and single CRM enable these businesses to manage their data securely, simplify their operations, improve customer engagement, and grow.
How can healthcare providers use HubSpot for patient management?
Healthcare providers can use HubSpot to manage patient data securely and efficiently. HubSpot’s HIPAA-compliant features allow providers to store electronic protected health information (ePHI), automate workflows, and create personalized marketing campaigns by health condition. Features like patient portals, automated appointment scheduling, and unified patient records improve patient care and simplify administrative tasks.
What security features does HubSpot have for sensitive data?
HubSpot has:
Data Encryption: Data is encrypted in transit and at rest.
Advanced Authentication: MFA to secure access.
Audit Logging: Full data access and modification tracking.
Session Timeout: Inactive session timeout to prevent unauthorized access. These features ensure sensitive information is protected and businesses can be HIPAA compliant.
