Glossary · Frameworks & standards
What is HITRUST?
Also known as: HITRUST CSF, Health Information Trust Alliance
HITRUST is a certifiable security and privacy framework, delivered through the HITRUST CSF, that harmonizes requirements from HIPAA, ISO 27001, NIST, PCI DSS, and other standards into a single control set. Widely adopted in healthcare, it lets an organization demonstrate compliance against many overlapping mandates through one certification.
Key takeaways
- The HITRUST CSF is a certifiable framework, not just guidance.
- It harmonizes HIPAA, ISO 27001, NIST, PCI DSS, and other authoritative sources.
- Most common in healthcare and among vendors that handle protected health information.
- Controls are tailored to an organization's size, systems, and regulatory factors.
- Offers assessment tiers ranging from a lighter readiness level up to a rigorous validated certification.
What is the HITRUST CSF?
The HITRUST CSF (Common Security Framework) is a comprehensive, prescriptive control framework maintained by the HITRUST Alliance. Rather than asking organizations to interpret high-level standards, it translates many authoritative sources into specific, testable control requirements.
Because it folds in HIPAA, ISO 27001, NIST, and PCI DSS among others, a single HITRUST assessment can evidence compliance across multiple regimes at once, which is why it is popular with organizations facing overlapping obligations.
Who needs HITRUST certification?
HITRUST is most common in healthcare, where covered entities and business associates handle protected health information and must satisfy HIPAA alongside customer security expectations. Many hospitals and health plans require their vendors to hold a HITRUST certification as a condition of doing business.
Beyond healthcare, organizations in any regulated industry that must reconcile several frameworks may adopt HITRUST to consolidate effort. It is especially attractive to vendors who would otherwise undergo many separate customer security reviews.
How does HITRUST certification work?
HITRUST tailors its control requirements to each organization based on factors such as size, the systems in scope, and applicable regulations, so two organizations rarely face an identical control set. Assessments are offered at multiple levels of rigor:
- A lighter, lower-assurance assessment suited to establishing essential cybersecurity hygiene.
- An intermediate assessment offering moderate assurance against a curated set of controls.
- A comprehensive validated assessment that provides the highest assurance and the most widely recognized certification.
Validated assessments are performed with a HITRUST-approved external assessor and reviewed by HITRUST before certification is granted, typically lasting two years with an interim check.
Frequently asked questions
- Is HITRUST the same as HIPAA?
- No. HIPAA is a US healthcare privacy and security law, while HITRUST is a certifiable framework that incorporates HIPAA requirements along with other standards into one assessable control set.
- Why do healthcare vendors get HITRUST certified?
- Because many healthcare organizations require it from their vendors, a HITRUST certification can replace numerous individual customer security assessments and demonstrate HIPAA alignment.
- How long is a HITRUST certification valid?
- A validated HITRUST certification is generally valid for two years, with an interim assessment to confirm controls remain effective.
- Does HITRUST replace SOC 2?
- Not exactly. They serve different markets and audiences, though they share many underlying controls; some organizations pursue both depending on customer demand.