Continuum Signs Biz Associate Agreements with MSPs Under New HIPAA Rules

Continuum said it has gone to great lengths to ensure it is fully prepared to assist its partners and their clients in meeting the standards of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. In addition to strengthening its technical, administrative, and physical security, the company has created the Continuum HIPAA Resource Center to provide up-to-date compliance information for MSPs that helps them gain a better understanding of the technical implications involved with new HIPAA rules.

"Healthcare is one of the largest vertical markets for our partner base. MSPs who serve covered entities such as doctors' offices, hospitals, and health insurers need to be compliant with HIPAA if they want to continue those customer relationships and protect themselves from liability," said Continuum's Senior Vice President of Global Service Delivery Rob Autor. "We have strengthened our overall information security program throughout 2013 in anticipation of this month's deadline and implemented safeguards necessary to achieve HIPAA compliance."

Continuum is prepared to sign a business associate agreement (BAA) with partners who require it. The BAA is a contract, which acknowledges the associate's obligations under HIPAA, and among other things, describes how a business associate will report and respond to a data breach.

MSPs can gain more insight about HIPAA, the HITECH Act, and the Omnibus Rule by visiting Continuum's HIPAA Resource Center at http://www.continuum.net/HIPAA. The Center offers a range of HIPAA-related information including FAQs, informative blogs, and links to external resources.