Alpine Access Meets HIPAA Privacy and Security Requirements to Protect Patient Information

DENVER, April 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Alpine Access, the premier provider of virtual contact center solutions and services, today announced it completed an independent, third party audit for compliance with HIPAA and HITECH Act data security requirements. After an in-depth review of its policies and procedures to ensure compliance with the administrative, physical, and technical requirements of HIPAA's Privacy and Security Rules, the company's independent data security auditor determined that the existing data security program incorporates all necessary controls to validate compliance with the new rules.

"Information security and privacy is something Alpine Access has always taken very seriously," said Christopher M. Carrington, President and CEO of Alpine Access. "We were the first virtual call center to achieve PCI DSS Service Level 1 compliance and we are now taking another leadership role by meeting the rigorous standards for securing Protected Health Information (PHI). Although it took a serious commitment from our entire organization, deploying program controls in compliance with the HIPAA and HITECH Acts gives our healthcare clients peace of mind knowing they are getting the best and most secure service possible."

Alpine Access undertook an in-depth review of its policies and procedures to ensure compliance with the administrative, physical, and technical requirements of HIPAA's Privacy and Security Rules, as well as the privacy requirements mandated by Subtitle D of the HITECH Act. The company also engaged Coalfire Systems, a leading independent IT audit firm, to complete the program review. "Alpine Access has not only demonstrated a seasoned security program with controls designed to achieve full compliance with HIPAA and HITECH, we have also audited them as being PCI DSS Level 1 certified for three years in a row," stated Rick Dakin, president and co-founder of Coalfire Systems. "They have taken a leadership position in proving the viability of a highly secure and compliant environment across a large and distributed workforce."

As a service provider operating in compliance with the HIPAA and HITECH Acts, Alpine Access is well positioned to continue applying the benefits of its virtual contact center model to the growing customer service demands of national healthcare organizations. According to reports from Frost & Sullivan, a business research and consulting firm, healthcare organizations are the biggest proponents of using home-based agents, with 52% indicating they would increase the use of home agents in the next two years. These work-from-home representatives handle a wide range of patient needs, from customer service and account inquiries, to over-the-phone triage and medication help lines.

About Alpine Access

Alpine Access pioneered the virtual contact center model in 1998 to deliver high quality customer service at a lower cost for brand-conscious companies. With more than 4,500 professionals in the U.S. and Canada, Alpine Access was recently named the best contact center and CRM outsourcer for client satisfaction by the Black Book of Outsourcing. Alpine Access' clients include ten of the Fortune 100 companies in the financial services, communications, technology, healthcare, retail, travel and hospitality sectors. Visit www.alpineaccess.com or call 1-866-279-0585 for more information.

About Coalfire Systems, Inc.

Coalfire Systems is a leader in the IT Governance and Compliance Management industry. Coalfire has been certified by the Payment Card Industry as a qualified assessor for both payment card transaction processing merchants and services providers as well as application developers for electronic payments. Coalfire has completed over 1,000 IT audits and is recognized as a leader in the computer forensic investigation market.

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Chris Carrington

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SOURCE Alpine Access