HIPAA Compliance Testing in Software Applications

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations must be followed by any software used in the healthcare industry that manages electronic patient health information (ePHI). Federal law outlines requirements to guarantee that private patient health information is not disclosed without the subject's consent.

If patient data is handled, regardless of whether your company creates a mobile app, web app, or any other IoT system, the software must comply with HIPAA requirements. Testing healthcare applications is crucial for this reason. HIPAA compliance violations can result in severe fines and patient data theft.

Why Is the HIPAA Compliance Test Important?

The Yuma Regional Medical Center ransomware attack in 2022 is a wake-up call for every software company dealing with sensitive patient data. The attack exposed more than 700,000 patients’ details, proving why HIPAA compliance is necessary. In the US, 1 in 4 customers suffers from stolen healthcare records.

By ensuring HIPAA compliance, software companies dealing with healthcare data can ensure the privacy and security of patient data. It will also help you avoid huge penalties imposed by the Health and Human Services (HHS) of the US government. In severe cases of HIPAA violations, your company may face up to $1.5 million as fines or even ten years of imprisonment.

The best way to ensure HIPAA compliance is through HIPAA tests for healthcare providers. The compliance testing ensures that the software application meets all standards of HIPAA. By partnering with testing service providers, you can rest assured knowing that HIPAA compliance requirements are met.

HIPAA requirements are categorized based on the following five rules:

• HIPAA privacy rule – It guarantees an individual’s right to medical information. No covered entities or business associates can share information that could breach privacy requirements.
• HIPAA security rule – All software applications must apply safeguards that protect electronic patient records.
• HIPAA enforcement rule – It outlines directives associated with compliance. Failure to enforce HIPAA can result in civil penalties.
• HIPAA breach notification rule – Business associates must notify of any breach of patient health data within 60 days of knowing about the breach.
• HIPAA omnibus rule – Business associates must adhere to the changing HIPAA requirements while ensuring that old HIPAA requirements are met.

Understanding HIPAA Testing for Healthcare Providers

As part of HIPAA security requirements, a few safeguards are outlined to be followed by business associates dealing with sensitive and private patient data.

• Administrative safeguards – Companies must have clear documents on the security management process. They must analyze ePHI risks and ensure security mechanisms are in place to mitigate them.
• Physical safeguards – Companies are responsible for physically restricting access to data centers that store ePHI.
• Technical safeguards – Companies must ensure the security of software, hardware, and other technologies that access ePHI.

Testing Strategies for Healthcare Application Testing

To ensure HIPAA compliance, rigorous testing is mandatory. Healthcare application testing ensures that all the guidelines to protect patient health data are followed. It also tests the limits of software safeguards in place to protect against data breaches. The risk management process should also automate breach reporting when a data breach occurs.

Sanity testing and full-feature testing must be conducted at the early stages of the development cycle. The testing strategies chosen for any application depend on the scope and limitations of the application. Testing strategies essential for HIPAA tests are:

1. Access Control

Users with access to patient data should have the minimum access required to complete their tasks. You should test for user-based, role-based, and context-based access to get ePHI. While developing test cases, ensure that the access control list is foolproof. Every user must be uniquely identified throughout the system. Test the security of two-factor authentication for data access.

2. Data Sanitization

Testing for data leakage is also essential to ensure HIPAA compliance. The test data used here should act similarly to accurate data. Automated testing tools and data generation techniques are useful in testing large data sets to ensure high performance. Different test cases must be drafted for data leakage and breach possibilities.

3. Audit Trail

The essential requirement for HIPAA compliance is to ensure that data is auditable. Test for audit trail implementation so that any changes to the data are auditable. The trail log should contain all details about the last change made to the data. This will help identify and report data breaches accurately.

4. Encrypted Data Transfers

Data about patient health information should always be stored in an encrypted form. The data shared should be decrypted only by authorized users at the time of access. Data should be tested to ensure that secure encryption keys are used. The encryption algorithm should be tested to ensure security. After testing for encryption, risk analysis is also necessary to mitigate data loss risks.

Testing healthcare applications is inherently complicated because it calls for subject-matter knowledge. Data access methods must be disclosed to the testing team. Companies must conduct rigorous testing to ensure compliance with HIPAA because violations can have serious consequences. Hiring a testing partner with experience and knowledge in the healthcare industry is the best way to conduct HIPAA tests. The QA team must collaborate with the development team to implement testing and assurance procedures throughout the product lifecycle.