Many companies are jumping onto the bandwagon of cloud computing. But how will it work for companies such as translation agencies which have to comply with HIPAA regulations?
Cloud computing has addressed the need for affordable and practical solutions to software, infrastructure, and platform. Cloud computing has turned these expensive products into “services” by following the concept of how utilities are billed as against purchasing a product as a whole package. This makes cloud computing flexible and cost-effective for most people.
Reconciling Cloud Computing with HIPAA compliance
As attractive as cloud computing may seem, companies bound by HIPAA are concerned that cloud computing might be violating HIPAA policies on maintaining the integrity and security of data being processed and stored in their respective servers and machines. In cloud computing, the destination of the file is no longer monitored manually but is intelligently sorted out by the “cloud” itself. The future for this new technology, therefore, seems gloomy for some, as there are reports that sites using cloud computing (i.e. TypePad) experience down times occurring too frequently. What data recovery system will be in place and how can users be ensured that the information that gets into the cloud does not get lost?
Will Cloud Computing Cater To Translation Agencies?
Given the fact that security is still a very much debated issue in cloud computing, it is almost safe to say that it is still very much insecure, as far as HIPAA conditions are concerned, to be considered as an option for translation agencies subscribing to cloud computing must be thought of carefully and entail a no-holds barred interview with the provider as well as 100% satisfaction in their plans for addressing the company’s data security needs.
How to address the HIPAA issue in Translation Management
AKORBI Language Consulting has explored the venue of cloud computing for its in-house TMS system and non-HIPAA or CFR data process and even virtualization of servers for application processing. But we feel that until proponents of this trend come up with fool-proof and tightly-secured domain for HIPAA-related data handling, cloud computing should ideally be limited to non-compliance functions. This is due to the fact that cloud computing is set up with a complete disregard for the privacy of data compliance as can be seen with the ambiguity of data retrieval and recovery procedures. When a domain created exclusively for HIPAA work is available, then it is the only time that translation companies should consider cloud computing.
