Which group is primarily responsible for maintaining compliance with HIPAA regulations?

The group primarily responsible for maintaining compliance with HIPAA regulations is covered entities and business associates. Covered entities include healthcare providers, health plans, and healthcare clearinghouses that handle protected health information (PHI). Business associates are individuals or entities that perform certain functions or activities on behalf of a covered entity that involve the use or disclosure of PHI.

Given the critical role that these groups play in managing sensitive patient information, they are required by HIPAA to implement appropriate safeguards to protect PHI. This involves ensuring that they have the necessary policies and procedures in place, conducting staff training, and performing regular risk assessments to identify and mitigate potential vulnerabilities related to the privacy and security of health information.

Other groups, such as the marketing department or the finance department, may have roles that touch on aspects of patient information, but they do not bear the main responsibility for compliance with HIPAA regulations. Similarly, while patient advocacy groups can be instrumental in promoting patient rights and awareness regarding HIPAA, they do not have the compliance responsibilities that fall under the jurisdiction of covered entities and business associates.