Understanding the assessment methodology, what your score means, and how to improve your HIPAA compliance posture.
Your overall compliance score determines your organization's risk level
80-100% Score
Your organization demonstrates strong HIPAA compliance with comprehensive safeguards in place. Minor gaps may exist but overall risk is minimal.
60-79% Score
Your organization has basic compliance measures but significant gaps exist. Moderate risk of breach or enforcement action. Improvement needed.
40-59% Score
Your organization has major compliance gaps across multiple categories. High probability of breach and significant penalties. Immediate action required.
0-39% Score
Your organization has severe compliance deficiencies. Extremely high risk of data breach and substantial penalties. Emergency remediation required.
Our scoring methodology is based on HIPAA Security Rule requirements and industry best practices
Each question is assigned a weight (1-3) based on its importance to HIPAA compliance:
Addressable requirements or best practices
Important safeguards with moderate compliance impact
Required specifications and critical security controls
Question: "Do you encrypt ePHI when stored?" (Weight: 3)
Your overall score is the weighted average across three HIPAA Security Rule categories:
Policies, procedures, training, and organizational structure for managing security. Typically comprises 40-50% of total score due to number of requirements.
Physical access controls, workstation security, and device management. Typically 15-25% of total score.
Technology-based controls including access control, encryption, and audit mechanisms. Typically 25-35% of total score.
Strategic approaches to enhance your compliance posture based on your risk level
Focus on questions with the highest weight (3) - these represent required specifications and critical controls with the most impact on your score.
Priority examples: Encryption (at rest and in transit), MFA, Risk Analysis, BAAs, Security Incident Response
Even partial implementation (50% credit) is significantly better than no implementation (0% credit). Start initiatives for all "No" answers.
Impact: Moving from "No" to "Partial" on a Weight 3 question gains 4.5 points toward your score
"Not Sure" indicates a knowledge gap - investigate these areas immediately. You may already be compliant but unaware.
Quick win: Conduct internal audit to verify status of all "Not Sure" items - many may already be "Yes"
If one category is significantly lower than others, prioritize bringing it up to par. OCR looks at compliance across all three safeguard types.
Goal: Achieve at least 70% in each individual category (Administrative, Physical, Technical)
Once critical gaps are addressed, finish partially implemented safeguards to maximize points and strengthen overall security.
Target: Move all "Partial" answers to "Yes" for Weight 2 and 3 questions
• Self-Assessment Tool: This assessment relies on your honest self-evaluation. It cannot verify actual implementation.
• Not a Guarantee: A high score doesn't guarantee OCR compliance or immunity from enforcement actions.
• Snapshot in Time: Compliance is ongoing. Regular reassessment is necessary as your environment changes.
• Simplified Scoring: Actual HIPAA compliance involves nuanced requirements that may not be fully captured in a questionnaire.
• Professional Review Recommended: Consider engaging HIPAA compliance experts for validation and gap remediation planning.