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Compliance Framework

HIPAA

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

HIPAA establishes national standards for protecting sensitive patient health information. Covered entities and business associates must implement administrative, physical, and technical safeguards — and demonstrate compliance through ongoing risk assessment and control management. ServiceNow helps healthcare organizations automate HIPAA compliance and manage privacy risk.

What is HIPAA?

The framework explained

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was enacted in 1996 and sets national standards for protecting individually identifiable health information — known as Protected Health Information (PHI). HIPAA has three key rules that create compliance obligations. The Privacy Rule governs how PHI can be used and disclosed. The Security Rule establishes requirements for protecting electronic PHI (ePHI) through administrative, physical, and technical safeguards. The Breach Notification Rule requires covered entities to notify affected individuals, HHS, and in some cases the media when a breach of unsecured PHI occurs. Covered entities — including healthcare providers, health plans, and healthcare clearinghouses — and their business associates must conduct regular risk assessments, implement and test controls, and maintain documentation demonstrating compliance.
ServiceNow Approach

How ServiceNow addresses HIPAA

ServiceNow GRC/IRM provides healthcare organizations with a structured platform to manage HIPAA compliance continuously rather than reactively. HIPAA Security Rule controls can be mapped and tested within ServiceNow, with automated workflows routing test assignments to control owners and generating issues when gaps are identified. Risk assessments can be structured and scored using weighted criteria that reflect HIPAA's required analysis of likelihood and impact. Vendor and business associate risk can be managed through ServiceNow Vendor Risk Management — centralizing BAA tracking, scoring vendor risk, and triggering mitigation workflows for high-risk relationships. ServiceNow SecOps supports breach investigation workflows with role-based access controls that restrict sensitive PHI investigation data to authorized personnel only — a critical requirement under the HIPAA Security Rule. Dashboards provide compliance officers with real-time visibility into open risks, control testing status, and remediation progress.
XAAS Implementation

How we implement HIPAA

XAAS Solutions implements ServiceNow for HIPAA compliance by building a practical, defensible risk management program — not just a documentation exercise. We structure your HIPAA risk assessment methodology within ServiceNow, aligned to HHS guidance and the NIST Cybersecurity Framework. We configure control testing workflows for Security Rule safeguards, implement vendor risk management for business associates, and build breach investigation workflows with appropriate access controls. We deliver dashboards that give compliance officers, privacy officers, and executive leadership real-time visibility into the organization's HIPAA risk posture — and configure KRIs that surface emerging risks before they become breach events.
Frequently Asked Questions

About HIPAA on ServiceNow

What is HIPAA compliance?

HIPAA compliance means meeting the requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act — including implementing required safeguards for protected health information (PHI), conducting regular risk assessments, and maintaining documentation demonstrating ongoing compliance.

Who must comply with HIPAA?

HIPAA applies to covered entities — healthcare providers, health plans, and healthcare clearinghouses — and their business associates, which are vendors or contractors that create, receive, maintain, or transmit PHI on behalf of a covered entity.

What is a HIPAA risk assessment?

A HIPAA risk assessment is a required analysis that identifies potential risks and vulnerabilities to the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of ePHI — and evaluates the likelihood and impact of each risk to determine the appropriate safeguards.

How does ServiceNow help with HIPAA compliance?

ServiceNow GRC/IRM structures and automates HIPAA risk assessments, control testing, and remediation tracking. ServiceNow Vendor Risk Management manages business associate risk. ServiceNow SecOps supports breach investigation workflows with role-based access controls that protect sensitive investigation data.

What are the penalties for HIPAA violations?

HIPAA penalties range from $100 to $50,000 per violation, with annual caps up to $1.9 million per violation category. Willful neglect violations that are not corrected carry mandatory penalties. Criminal penalties, including imprisonment, are possible for intentional violations.

What is a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) under HIPAA?

A Business Associate Agreement is a contract required by HIPAA between a covered entity and a business associate that specifies how the business associate may use and disclose PHI and requires them to implement appropriate safeguards.

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