The HIPAA Self-Audit: A 30-Minute Alignment Tool for Health Tech Execs

TL;DR

If you're leading a scaling health tech company you probably think HIPAA is covered. But when teams move fast, risk management falls through the cracks especially if there's no full-time CISO. This article gives you a simple way to spot where compliance may be drifting out of alignment, plus a downloadable guide to lead the conversation.

👉 Download the HIPAA Exposure Guide to turn insight into action.

HIPAA Is the Minimum

Most health tech leaders breathe a sigh of relief after passing a HIPAA assessment or vendor security review.

But remember, compliance isn’t security, but its a good start.

As you scale, risk shifts.

Responsibilities blur.

And policies written 12 months ago stop reflecting how the business works today.

Why You Need a Self-Audit Now (Not After A Breach)

Most teams assume they’re fine until someone asks a question they can't answer.

The executive team thinks security is being handled.

The dev team thinks compliance is owned by Ops.

Ops assumes the policies are current.

But no one’s checked in months.

What the 30-Minute Self-Audit Actually Looks Like

You don’t need to assemble your entire org.

This is a leadership alignment tool.

Pull in your CTO, Head of Product, and anyone managing vendors or compliance operations.

Here’s a preview of the kinds of questions you’ll cover:

✅ Governance

Do we have a designated CISO or equivalent for HIPAA security?

✅ Risk Management

Have we completed a full HIPAA risk and gap assessment in the past 12 months?

✅ Vendor Risk

Are all vendors who touch PHI documented, reviewed, and covered by valid BAAs?

✅ Incident Response Readiness

Have we tested our incident response plan with the executive team?

✅ Security Awareness Training

Does our training include phishing simulations and role-specific content?

✅ Monitoring & Audit Logging

Are logs reviewed by a qualified internal or external team?

That’s just a sample.

The full audit includes 30 targeted questions across 10 domains.

Each designed to identify the gaps that cost teams time and trust when they stay hidden.

👉 Get the full checklist + action steps here

What to Expect: Discomfort = Progress

The goal is to get visibility.

Most teams that do this audit realize:

❌ Some policies are outdated

❌ BAAs haven’t been reviewed

❌ Logging is partial or non-existent

❌ Nobody knows where breach plans live

This is scale catching up with your systems.

Use the guide to turn those friction points into action steps.

👉 Download it here

Why Dev Teams Can’t Keep Carrying Compliance Alone

A common pattern I see is HIPAA responsibilities falling to the dev team.

They’re smart.

They care.

But they’re not compliance architects.

30 Minutes Could Save You 3 Months of Headaches

You don’t need to become a HIPAA expert.

But you do need to be able to speak to where your risks are before a client, investor, or prospect asks.

This self-audit is a starting point.

Not a test.

Not a checklist.

A leadership check-in.

👉 Download the HIPAA Exposure Guide

It’s been used by dozens to realign on security without slowing down.

Run the audit.

Own the answers.

Lead from clarity!