Is Qualtrics safe to use in the healthcare industry?
Qualtrics, a self-service experience management platform, offers cloud-based tools to help you design products and improve employee and customer experiences. With its extensive capabilities, the software may handle protected health information (PHI), making it subject to HIPAA regulations.
If you’re in the healthcare industry, you need to ensure that the tools you use are compliant with HIPAA to protect patient data. Let’s examine whether Qualtrics meets these stringent requirements.
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Is Qualtrics HIPAA Compliant?
Yes, Qualtrics offers a HIPAA compliant subscription for customers who need it. However, whether Qualtrics is HIPAA compliant still depends on how you use it and the safeguards you have in place. You must configure and use the platform in a way that meets HIPAA requirements. Subscribing to Qualtrics’ services alone doesn’t automatically guarantee compliance.
That said, Qualtrics Security and Compliance and the Qualtrics Security Statement show that the platform has undergone rigorous compliance certifications. This includes HITRUST CSF, which is designed to help you comply with HIPAA. Qualtrics also has a “HIPAA Self Certified” status, meaning it has established measures to ensure it complies with HIPAA. Moreover, they provide a Business Associate Agreement (BAA), which is necessary for any vendor handling PHI.
Qualtrics Business Associate Agreement (BAA)
The Qualtrics Contractor Business Associate Agreement is one of the key requirements for HIPAA compliance when using the software. The signed BAA is a contract between you (the HIPAA-covered entity) and Qualtrics (the business associate) that ensures both parties will protect PHI.
Key aspects of the BAA show that Qualtrics agrees to the following:
- Implement the proper administrative, physical, and technical safeguards to protect PHI.
- Ensure that any subcontractors or third-party vendors who may access PHI will also comply with HIPAA and be bound by similar agreements.
- In case of a security breach, notify the covered entity in accordance with the HIPAA breach notification rule.
- Return or destroy PHI upon the termination of the contract.
- Give the covered entity the right to audit and monitor Qualtrics’ compliance with HIPAA.
Are Qualtrics surveys HIPAA compliant?
Likewise, Qualtrics survey tools enable HIPAA compliance. However, you should still secure a BAA with Qualtrics and follow the three rules of HIPAA when using the software. Purdue University reminds users to review the options that need to be in place to make sure that PHI remains protected when using the survey tools. This includes:
- Delete or leave blank the meta description unless necessary.
- Consider “open access” (enables anonymity) vs by invitation only (not open to the public) when inviting people to take the survey.
- Keep the “prevent indexing” default option (ON) to prevent search engines from accessing your survey.
- Keep the “participant files” default option (ON) to prevent unauthorized users from viewing survey results.
- Set a survey expiration date.
- Protect your survey with a password.
- Add a message in the “Message” field and leave the “Include Response Report” unchecked to get notified when a survey is completed.
- Remove email results links or delete triggers to protect restricted information.
- Publish the survey to save the changes made.
Qualtrics HIPAA Compliance Features
Qualtrics provides several features that help you comply with HIPAA:
- Data encryption to protect data in transit
- Email security
- Local and offsite data redundancy
- Third-party scanning
- Strict access controls to limit who can view and manage PHI
- Detailed audit logs to show who accesses data and when
- Secure data centers equipped with physical and technical safeguards that meet HIPAA security standards
- Single sign-on (SSO)
- Role-based authentication
Is Qualtrics Safe: Qualtrics Data Security
Qualtrics takes rigorous measures to protect your sensitive data. In addition to encryption and access controls, the platform regularly undergoes third-party security audits as seen in its multiple certifications (SOC 2 Type II; ISO 27001, 27017, 27018, and 27701; FedRAMP Authorization; IRAP; HITRUST; TISAX; PCI DSS – XM Discover VOC Data Integration Only). The platform also follows best practices for data security, such as regular software and patches. However, as a covered entity, you should still do your part to comply with HIPAA when using the software.
Qualtrics HIPAA Compliance Benefits
Using Qualtrics offers several benefits to your organization:
- Improved patient and employee experience: Using Qualtrics market research tools to enhance patient care and employee satisfaction, you can gather feedback and insights.
- Simplified data collection: Qualtrics simplifies the process of collecting and managing data, making it easier for you to comply with HIPAA.
- Risk mitigation: Your organization can reduce the risk of data breaches and their legal consequences.
Transmit Qualtrics Data Using iFax’s HIPAA-Compliant Fax
Secure communication is an important consideration for any healthcare organization. Qualtrics offers a powerful platform for collecting and managing PHI. However, your organization may also need to transmit this information securely. This is where services like iFax come into play.
iFax is a HIPAA-compliant fax service that allows you to send and receive online faxes. Like Qualtrics, iFax meets strict security standards. If your healthcare organization uses Qualtrics, integrate iFax for secure faxing of data to further strengthen data security. Together, these tools offer a comprehensive solution for managing PHI and complying with HIPAA.
Ready to achieve complete HIPAA compliance? Schedule a free demo.
