CHARLOTTE, N.C.—Eye Care Leaders (ECL), a practice management software developer for ophthalmology and optometry practices, said that all of its products, as well services such as revenue cycle management, hosting, and more, have earned Certified status for information security by Hitrust. Hitrust CSF (Common Security Framework) certified status demonstrates that ECL has met key regulations and industry-defined requirements and is appropriately managing risk. By including federal and state regulations, standards and frameworks, and incorporating a risk-based approach, the Hitrust CSF helps organizations address these challenges through a comprehensive and flexible framework of prescriptive and scalable security controls.

“Eye Care Leaders is the only ophthalmology-specific electronic health records (EHR) provider to have this certification,” said Martin Ignatovski, ECL’s chief information and compliance officer. “This is the highest recognition in security compliance that an organization can achieve in the health care market, which further demonstrates Eye Care Leader’s dedication to quality and patient security.”

Ignatovski noted that obtaining Hitrust CSF certification required months of preparation, reviews and audits. “Health care providers and their business associates have multiple compliance requirements and obligations, and they must guard their systems against ransomware and other cybersecurity threats that could compromise patient health information (PHI),” he explained.

The advantage of the Hitrust certification is that it ensures that business associates and the providers they serve comply with multiple standards and controls within the broad, rigorous framework, including HIPAA, HITECH, ONC, MU, ISO27001/27002, NIST and COBIT, Ignatovski noted, adding that a Hitrust certification can scale as the organization grows and develops.