What are the Risks of HIPAA Non-compliance?

If HIPAA-regulated PII (e.g. patient identifiers, medical history, health-provider data) is transmitted without encryption, masking, or proper policy control, you risk:

Non-compliance fines

Fines for non-compliance are not cheap – your business can be fined hundreds of thousands of dollars for non-compliance.

Exposing your patients’ data to fraud

Inadequate security systems attract online hackers, making your business susceptible to data breaches. Personal information such as credit card details, security codes, names, birth dates, and other sensitive data becomes a prime target for malicious actors, leading to potential identity theft and fraudulent activities.

Costly investigation fees

If evidence of non-compliance is found, the responsibility for covering these investigation fees will fall on your business. This translates to substantial costs amounting to thousands of dollars.

Criminal Charges

An individual who intentionally acquires or reveals personally identifiable health information (PHI) –which is precisely what HIPAA’s Privacy Rule aims at protecting–, can be subjected to criminal consequences, including fines of up to $50,000 and a maximum imprisonment of one year.

However, if the misconduct includes false pretenses, the criminal penalties can escalate to $100,000 and a potential imprisonment term of up to five years. Moreover, if the conduct is characterized by the intent to sell, transfer, or exploit PHI for commercial advantage, personal gain, or malicious harm, the penalties increase to $250,000, and the individual may face imprisonment for up to 10 years.

Reputation lost

Non-compliance can erode customer trust in your business, leading to a loss of confidence among your customer base. Instances of data breaches may result in customers refusing to engage in transactions with your business, causing lasting damage to your reputation.

Avoid HIPAA’s non-compliance Risks with Trackingplan

Trackingplan helps mitigate these risks by:

• Masking all PII on-device, ensuring no PHI is processed by our backend.
• Encrypting all transported data, enforcing least-privilege access.
• Providing audit logs and alerts for any potential PHI leaks.
• Working with your compliance team to align with HIPAA's Technical & Administrative Safeguards.

To learn more, check this article on HIPAA-compliant digital analytics challenges and how organizations in the healthcare sector navigate constraints while leveraging their data.

For full details, please refer to our Privacy & Security documentation.