Most dental practices don't have one. A documented security risk analysis is the foundation of the HIPAA Security Rule — and the #1 finding in enforcement actions. We handle it, along with the MFA, encrypted backups, and training that protect your charts, imaging, and schedule — so you can stay chairside.
If your practice bills insurance electronically, you're a covered entity and the Security Rule (45 CFR Part 164) applies in full — to the solo practice and the DSO alike. Your practice management system, digital X-rays and pano imaging, email, and even the front-desk workstation all hold ePHI. And your PMS vendor being "HIPAA compliant" doesn't make you compliant.
What the Security Rule expects your practice to have:
We run and document the security risk analysis the rule requires — and refresh it annually, so it's never the gap that sinks you.
MFA and per-user access on your practice management and imaging systems — no more shared front-desk passwords.
Encrypted, tested, off-site backups of charts, imaging, and schedules — a locked-up server shouldn't cancel a week of patients.
Training logs, BAAs, risk analysis, policies — kept current and audit-ready, so an investigator letter isn't a panic.
One flat-rate partner for IT support, security, and the HIPAA documentation that comes with holding patient records.
The documented risk analysis HIPAA is built on — performed, written up, and refreshed annually with a prioritized fix list.
Multi-factor and per-user logins across your PMS, imaging, and email — rolled out without slowing down the front desk.
Automated, encrypted, tested backups of charts, X-rays, and schedules — with recovery times you've actually seen proven.
Encrypted email and secure file exchange so patient records and referral packets never travel as plain attachments.
Continuous monitoring, patching, and ransomware defense on every operatory and office workstation — problems caught before patients notice.
Short, documented staff trainings plus tracked business-associate agreements — the paperwork investigators ask for, always current.
Rate your practice against 14 high-impact HIPAA Security Rule safeguards and get an instant readiness score with your top gaps — including whether the risk analysis everything else depends on is in place.
Yes — fully. Any dental practice that bills insurance electronically is a HIPAA covered entity, and the Security Rule (45 CFR Part 164) applies regardless of practice size. Federal enforcement has repeatedly included small dental practices, and there's no small-office exemption.
It's the documented assessment of where your patient data lives and what threatens it — required by 45 CFR 164.308(a)(1)(ii)(A), and the single most-cited gap in HIPAA enforcement. Every other safeguard is supposed to flow from it. If your practice has never done one (or it's years old), that's the first thing to fix.
No. Your PMS or imaging vendor is a business associate — they secure their software, but your practice is the covered entity, responsible for the risk analysis, workstation security, access controls, backups, training, and having signed BAAs in place. A vendor contract doesn't transfer your HIPAA obligations.
You must notify affected patients, and breaches affecting 500+ people go to HHS and the media. Then come the questions — and the first document investigators ask for is your security risk analysis. Beyond penalties: patient notification costs, cyber-insurance complications, and the reputational hit of telling families their records were exposed.
That's the point of our dental offering: we run and document the security risk analysis, roll out MFA and access controls on your practice management and imaging systems, encrypt and test your backups, train your team, track your BAAs, and monitor everything 24/7 — so compliance is a byproduct of how your practice IT runs, not a binder that gathers dust.
Book a free, no-obligation discovery call. We'll tell you straight where your practice stands against the Security Rule and what closing the gaps actually takes.