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title: "How can Blancco software help make your organization HIPAA compliant?"
canonical: "https://support.blancco.com/space/KB/11633169/How%20can%20Blancco%20software%20help%20make%20your%20organization%20HIPAA%20compliant%3F"
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---
<span style="color: #000000">Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) is enforced by the Office of Civil Rights which is part of the US Department of Health & Human Services. From our point of view it is US regulation that enforces data security including data sanitization in the health industry.</span>

<span style="color: #000000">There are significant fines and punishments for not complying with the mandated data security practices. Non-compliant organization may be fined up to $250,000 and responsible individuals imprisoned for up to 10 years.</span>

<span style="color: #000000">Blancco provides products that help organizations comply with HIPAA. The elements of the regulation that Blancco erasure software cover are the ones dealing with removal and auditing of electronic protected health information. Specifically the following code from CFR 45 PART 164 clearly defines data erasure requirement:</span>

*<span style="color: #000000">§ 164.310 Physical safeguards.</span>*

*<span style="color: #000000">(d)(1) Standard: Device and media controls. Implement policies and procedures that govern the receipt and removal of hardware and electronic media that contain electronic protected health information into and out of a facility, and the movement of these items within the facility.</span>*

*<span style="color: #000000">(2) Implementation specifications:</span>*

*<span style="color: #000000">(i) Disposal (Required). Implement policies and procedures to address the final disposition of electronic protected health information, and/or the hardware or electronic media on which it is stored.</span>*

*<span style="color: #000000">(ii) Media re-use (Required). Implement procedures for removal of electronic protected health information from electronic media before the media are made available for re-use.</span>*

*<span style="color: #000000">(iii) Accountability (Addressable). Maintain a record of the movements of hardware and electronic media and any person responsible therefore.</span>*

<span style="color: #000000">The data erasure code of this requirement can be fulfilled by using Blancco software on all media that contains electronic protected health information. In addition to that, the reporting and auditing features in Blancco products give a solution for the accountability implementation as defined at least in §164.310(d)(2)(iii).</span>

<span style="color: #000000">Blancco software can also be used to comply with requirements for data erasure as defined in these mandates:</span>

- <span style="color: #000000">Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA)</span>
- <span style="color: #000000">The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACTA)</span>
- <span style="color: #000000">Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS)</span>
- <span style="color: #000000">EU data protection directive of 1995</span>
- <span style="color: #000000">Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOx)</span>
- <span style="color: #000000">Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA)</span>
- <span style="color: #000000">California Senate Bill 1386</span>

<span style="color: #000000">Links for further reading:</span>

- [https://www.blancco.com/solutions/healthcare/](https://www.blancco.com/solutions/healthcare/)
- [http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/](http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/)
- [<span style="color: #003366">http://www.hipaasurvivalguide.com</span>](http://www.hipaasurvivalguide.com)
- [<span style="color: #003366">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HIPAA</span>](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HIPAA)

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