Healthcare Provider Secures PHI Access and Achieves HIPAA Compliance
How a major healthcare network reduced security incidents by 92% and achieved comprehensive HIPAA compliance while improving clinician access to critical systems.
About the Organization
A major regional healthcare network operating 25 hospitals and 150 outpatient clinics across five states, serving over 3 million patients annually. With 8,500 healthcare professionals and administrative staff, they manage one of the largest electronic health record (EHR) systems in the region.
The organization was facing mounting pressure from both regulators and patients regarding data privacy and security. Recent industry breaches and an OCR audit revealed significant gaps in their privileged access controls, putting 2 million patient records at risk and exposing them to potential HIPAA violations.
Protecting Patient Data While Enabling Clinical Care
Unrestricted Database Access to PHI
Over 200 IT staff, DBAs, and application developers had direct, unmonitored access to production databases containing protected health information (PHI). There was no way to track who accessed what patient data or why, creating significant HIPAA compliance risks.
OCR Audit Findings
An Office for Civil Rights (OCR) audit identified material deficiencies in access controls, audit logging, and the minimum necessary standard. The organization faced potential fines and was required to implement corrective actions within 90 days.
Excessive Vendor and Third-Party Access
Dozens of vendors supporting EHR systems, medical devices, and billing platforms had standing VPN access to production networks. Many vendor accounts were shared, making it impossible to establish individual accountability required by HIPAA.
Insider Threat Incidents
The organization experienced 6 confirmed insider threat incidents in 18 months, including inappropriate access to celebrity patient records and data exfiltration by a departing employee. Incident investigation was hampered by incomplete audit logs.
HIPAA-Compliant Zero-Trust Access for Healthcare
The healthcare provider implemented TigerAccess to establish zero-trust controls for all privileged access to systems containing PHI, with comprehensive audit logging and session monitoring to meet HIPAA requirements.
Just-in-Time Database Access with PHI Logging
All database access requires explicit approval with documented justification. Every SQL query is logged with full context for HIPAA audit trails.
- Time-bound access (1-4 hours) to Epic EHR production databases
- Mandatory justification tied to change tickets and incident IDs
- Complete SQL query logging with patient ID tracking
- Real-time alerts for bulk data access or suspicious queries
Vendor Access Management
Eliminated shared vendor accounts and standing VPN access. All vendor access is individually authenticated, time-limited, and fully audited.
- Individual vendor technician accounts with SSO integration
- Session-based access tied to service tickets and work orders
- Automatic expiration when maintenance windows close
- Complete session recordings for Business Associate compliance
HIPAA-Compliant Audit Logging
Comprehensive, tamper-proof audit logs that meet all HIPAA technical safeguard requirements for access tracking and accountability.
- Who, what, when, where for every access to ePHI systems
- 6-year retention in WORM storage for regulatory compliance
- Searchable audit logs for breach investigations and OCR audits
- Automated alerts for unauthorized PHI access attempts
Role-Based Access with Minimum Necessary Enforcement
Implemented granular RBAC that enforces the HIPAA minimum necessary standard, ensuring users only access PHI required for their job function.
- DBA roles scoped to specific databases and environments
- Application support limited to non-production environments by default
- Emergency "break-glass" access with heightened audit logging
- Quarterly role recertification by department managers
Transforming Healthcare Security and Compliance
HIPAA Compliance
Passed OCR follow-up audit with full compliance on all access control and audit log technical safeguards. Zero corrective action plans required.
Reduced Security Incidents
Insider threat and unauthorized access incidents dropped from 6 per year to less than 1, with faster detection and investigation capabilities.
PHI Access Audit Coverage
Every access to ePHI systems logged with who, what, when, where, and why. Complete audit trail for 2 million patient records.
Faster Incident Response
Privacy incident investigations that previously took weeks now complete in hours with searchable audit logs and session recordings.
Shared Vendor Accounts
Eliminated all shared vendor credentials. Every vendor technician has individual accountability for Business Associate compliance.
Avoided Penalties
Estimated OCR fines avoided by achieving full compliance. Also reduced cyber insurance premiums by 30% with improved security posture.
HIPAA Compliance Impact
TigerAccess transformed our security posture and gave us the tools to truly protect patient privacy. We went from facing significant OCR penalties to being held up as a model for HIPAA compliance. More importantly, we can now confidently tell our patients that their health information is secure.
HIPAA Compliance Implementation
Gap Analysis & Risk Assessment
HIPAA technical safeguards review, OCR audit finding remediation planning, PHI system inventory
Database Access Controls - Phase 1
Epic EHR databases, billing systems, lab systems - JIT access and audit logging
Vendor Access Migration
Individual vendor accounts, BAA compliance validation, session recording for all third parties
OCR Compliance Validation
Complete documentation, compliance report generation, OCR follow-up audit preparation
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