HIPAA IT Compliance: What Houston Medical Practices Need to Know

HIPAA IT Compliance: What Every Houston Medical Practice Needs to Know

If you run a medical practice, dental office, or healthcare facility in Houston, HIPAA compliance isn't optional — it's the law. And the IT side of HIPAA is where most practices get it wrong.

Here's what you need to know to stay compliant and avoid fines that can reach $1.5 million per violation category.

What HIPAA Requires From Your IT Systems

The HIPAA Security Rule has three categories of safeguards your IT infrastructure must meet:

Administrative Safeguards

• Designated security officer responsible for HIPAA compliance
• Regular risk assessments (at least annually)
• Employee security training and awareness programs
• Written policies for data access, incident response, and disaster recovery
• Business Associate Agreements (BAAs) with every vendor that touches patient data

Physical Safeguards

• Controlled access to facilities and workstations
• Workstation security policies (lock screens, clean desks)
• Proper disposal of devices containing PHI (Protected Health Information)

Technical Safeguards

• Encryption — All PHI must be encrypted at rest and in transit. This includes emails, databases, backups, and portable devices.
• Access controls — Unique user IDs, role-based access, automatic logoff after inactivity.
• Audit logs — Your systems must log who accessed what data and when.
• Data backup and recovery — Regular backups with tested restore procedures.
• Network security — Firewalls, intrusion detection, secure Wi-Fi, and segmented networks.

The 5 Most Common HIPAA IT Failures

After working with healthcare practices across Houston, these are the violations we see most often:

1. Unencrypted email — Sending patient information via regular email (Gmail, Outlook) without encryption. This is the easiest violation to commit and the easiest to fix.
2. No backup testing — Having backups is one thing. Knowing they work is another. We've seen practices with "backups" that hadn't successfully completed in months.
3. Shared logins — Multiple staff members using the same login credentials. HIPAA requires unique user identification for every person accessing PHI.
4. No risk assessment — Required annually, yet most small practices haven't done one. Ever. This is usually the first thing auditors ask for.
5. No BAAs with IT vendors — If your IT provider has access to your systems (they do), you need a signed Business Associate Agreement. No exceptions.

What a HIPAA-Compliant IT Setup Looks Like

Here's the minimum your practice should have in place:

• ✅ Encrypted email (Microsoft 365 with encryption or dedicated HIPAA-compliant email)
• ✅ Full-disk encryption on all workstations and laptops
• ✅ Encrypted, automated daily backups with quarterly restore testing
• ✅ Enterprise-grade firewall with intrusion detection
• ✅ Endpoint protection (antivirus/anti-malware) on every device
• ✅ Multi-factor authentication (MFA) on all systems accessing PHI
• ✅ Documented security policies and employee training records
• ✅ Annual risk assessment documented and filed
• ✅ Signed BAAs with all vendors (IT provider, cloud services, EHR, etc.)

How We Help Houston Medical Practices

At Other Guys IT, HIPAA compliance is included in our flat-rate managed IT service — not an expensive add-on. We handle the technical safeguards, help you with administrative requirements, and give you the documentation you need to prove compliance.

If you're not sure whether your practice is compliant, we'll find out for free. Book a free IT assessment and we'll run through your HIPAA readiness in 30 minutes.

Call us: (972) 244-3009