TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Softchoice, a leading North American IT solutions and managed services provider, is pleased to announce its ability to now sign Business Associate Agreements (BAAs) under HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996).
HIPAA is a United States legislation providing data privacy and security provisions for safeguarding Protected Health Information (PHI) and electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI). A signed BAA confirms a service provider has safeguards in place to create, transmit, store or access PHI/ePHI in compliance with HIPAA. It also demonstrates a business partner’s commitment to ensure the services they provide are HIPAA compliant.
“HIPAA compliance is one of the most pressing concerns for CIOs, Privacy Officers and CEOs in the healthcare industry, and they are looking for business partners who take HIPAA as seriously as they do,” said Vince De Palma, President and CEO of Softchoice. “Many organizations will simply not work with business partners that are unwilling to invest in the protection of patients’ healthcare information. Our customers can be confident that when Softchoice signs a BAA, we share in the responsibilities and obligations they have with respect to HIPAA and patient privacy.”
As part of a broader HIPAA-compliance initiative that began over a year ago at Softchoice, the company has prepared and trained its Professional Services and Managed Services teams to securely deliver HIPAA-compliant services. Softchoice continues to work with a leading provider of healthcare compliance and cyber-risk management solutions to implement and audit its HIPAA program.
“Customers are obligated to ensure their business partners meet HIPAA requirements so that the personal health information they control is protected downstream,” De Palma said. “At Softchoice we back up every signed BAA with policies and processes we’ve put in place to ensure our customers meet their HIPAA regulatory requirements when they engage us. We take HIPAA and other regulatory requirements very seriously, and will continue to invest to ensure we are aligned with our customers’ needs.”
About Softchoice:
Softchoice is one of the largest IT solution and managed service providers in North America. Every day, thousands of organizations rely on Softchoice to provide insight and expertise that speeds the adoption of technology, while managing cost and risk. Through our unique points of view, we challenge leaders to think differently about the impact of technology on their employees and customers. Softchoice enables organizations to realize the full benefits of public cloud and a modern IT infrastructure through solution design, implementation, asset management, and assessment services, as well as ongoing support and mentorship through managed services. With access to one of the most efficient and cost-effective technology supply chains in North America, Softchoice also ensures products get to our customers quickly and in a trouble-free way.
