8x8, Inc. (NASDAQ:EGHT), a provider of cloud communications and
collaboration solutions
to more than 35,000 businesses, is seeing growing demand for its Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
and Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH)
compliant business communications services since new regulations
governing the protection of patient health information went into effect
on September 23, 2013.
According to a Department of Health and Human Services January 17, 2013
press release which announced the new regulations, “The HIPAA Privacy
and Security Rules have focused on health care providers, health plans
and other entities that process health insurance claims. The changes
announced today expand many of the requirements to business associates
of these entities that receive protected health information, such as
contractors and subcontractors.”
8x8 Senior Director of Security Mike McAlpen indicated, “Thousands of
additional U.S. companies are now directly affected by these new
expanded HIPAA regulations and many may not even be aware of it yet. Any
company that processes, stores, or transmits personal health information
directly or indirectly on behalf of a HIPAA-covered entity will now fall
under these newly expanded and significantly more rigorous regulations.”
McAlpen continued, “These companies may now need to provide evidentiary
assurance to auditors that they have effectively implemented internal
compliance governance and controls needed to protect the
confidentiality, integrity and availability of personal health
information. 8x8 is the first cloud communications provider to assist
companies in achieving these requirements in their core communications
and other highly visible areas. Compliant communications, specifically
fax and voicemail, are core to achieving this compliance.”
8x8 has taken significant steps to ensure that its cloud communications
services help customers meet the expanded requirements for HIPAA/HITECH
compliance. These include the establishment of comprehensive security
and privacy controls, validated by a thorough independent security
assessment, data-in-motion encryption with HTTPS for accessing faxes,
call recordings and voicemails, the ability for services to be set up
with administrative controls and restrictions to protect stored faxes,
recordings and voicemails and the delivery of a written business
associate agreement to customers ensuring the compliance of their
communications service provider.
One company utilizing 8x8’s HIPAA-compliant solution is ICANotes,
provider of a feature-rich, web-based electronic healthcare records
solution for psychiatrists and other behavioral health professionals.
Best known for its unique, button-driven charting capability, ICANotes
software enables clinicians to quickly create thorough, personalized
narrative notes in minutes with no typing or dictating.
“We rely on 8x8’s communications services to help us run our business
efficiently and securely,” said Jamie Morganstern, Operations Director
at ICANotes. “With 8x8, we have safeguards in place to pledge the
confidentiality and integrity of the health information of our
customers.”
For more information about 8x8 cloud communications and collaboration
solutions, visit http://www.8x8.com/VoIPBusinessPhoneSystems.aspx.
For information about 8x8 security and compliance, visit http://www.8x8.com/AboutUs/SecurityandCompliance.aspx
About 8x8, Inc.
8x8, Inc. (NASDAQ:EGHT) is a provider of unified communications and
collaboration, or UCC, services in the cloud to small and medium
businesses, or SMBs, and mid-market and distributed enterprises. The
company delivers a broad suite of UCC services to in-office and mobile
devices spanning cloud telephony, virtual contact center, virtual
meeting and virtual desktop through our proprietary unified software as
a service, or SaaS, platform. For additional information, visit www.8x8.com,
or connect with 8x8 on Google+,
Facebook,
LinkedIn
and Twitter.
Copyright Business Wire 2013