We need to onboard a healthcare client to use our azure services. need help understanting hipaa and hitrust complaince implementation on our azure portal

Question

Hi Team ,
We built a SAAS based solution fullty deployed on Azure AKS , using multiple azure services including azure open ai. Need to onboard a client who is HIPAA , PHI compliant. Do we have to take any HIPAA related subscirptions on azure or how do we onboard them using our services. I am planning to create a new subsctiption and have them use those services on the subscription and implement security on the RBACs etc. Please advise what else can i do i should i do.

Answer 1

Hello Balaganesh Chakrahari,

Greetings and Welcome to Microsoft Q&A!

I understand that you want help understanding how to implement HIPAA and HITRUST compliance on your Azure portal to onboard a healthcare client while ensuring data security and regulatory adherence.

Evaluate subscription-level settings, security, and access controls. Azure does not offer a dedicated HIPAA-compliant subscription, but it provides HIPAA-eligible services that can be used within a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) framework. 

Organizations must review and accept the Azure BAA via the Microsoft Trust Center to ensure compliance when handling Protected Health Information (PHI). Additionally, deploying services in HIPAA-compliant Azure regions can further enhance security and regulatory adherence.

To maintain data security and access control, organizations should implement Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) to restrict access based on user roles, ensuring that only authorized personnel can interact with sensitive data. 

Encryption is a critical requirement, and all stored data should be encrypted using Azure Storage encryption, while Azure Key Vault should be used for secure key management. Network security must also be enforced by leveraging Private Links, Network Security Groups (NSGs), and Virtual Network (VNET) peering to limit public exposure.

Continuous monitoring and compliance management are crucial for HIPAA compliance. Utilizing Azure Security Center and Microsoft Defender for Cloud allows organizations to proactively detect threats and enforce security policies. Regular audits, Azure Policy configurations, and log monitoring through Azure Monitor help ensure ongoing compliance and risk mitigation. 

Please refer this HIPAA - Azure Compliance | Microsoft Learn

I hope you understand. And, if you have any further query do let us know.

Thank you!