U.S. HICP (Medium Practice)

Why it Matters

U.S. HICP (Medium Practice) offers targeted guidance to healthcare organizations seeking to address industry-specific cyber risks and regulatory requirements.

Key benefits include:

• Strengthen information security governance

Establish clear roles, responsibilities, and oversight processes for cybersecurity management in healthcare settings.

• Enhance regulatory compliance support

Promote alignment with HIPAA requirements and foster readiness for audits and enforcement actions.

• Improve incident detection and response

Enable organizations to identify, contain, and recover from cyber threats and data breaches more effectively.

• Promote operational resilience

Reduce the likelihood and impact of service disruptions or patient care delays caused by cyber incidents.

• Support protection of patient data

Apply industry practices to safeguard sensitive health information against unauthorized access, disclosure, or loss.

How it Works

The U.S. Health Industry Cybersecurity Practices (HICP) Medium Practice is structured around a set of foundational cybersecurity“Threats” and “Practices,” each mapped to the most significant risks facing the healthcare sector. The framework organizes these practices into five key cybersecurity threat areas—such as email phishing and data loss—and aligns them with ten recommended security practices. Each practice is detailed with technical and procedural safeguards, maturity indicators, and example scenarios, providing a blueprint for risk management, governance, and implementation.

Healthcare organizations apply HICP Medium Practice by assessing their security posture against these predefined practices and controls. They implement recommended security safeguards—such as access management, asset inventory, and monitoring—to address specific threat scenarios. Ongoing activities include mapping controls to existing compliance and governance requirements, conducting risk assessments, training staff, and continuously monitoring for vulnerabilities and incidents to support regulatory compliance.

Using SmartSuite, organizations operationalize HICP Medium Practice through the use of centralized control libraries, risk registers, and policy governance modules tailored to HICP’s structure. Evidence collection tools facilitate documentation of control effectiveness, while compliance tracking and remediation workflows support audit readiness and reporting. Dashboards enable real-time monitoring, helping teams maintain continuous alignment with HICP security and compliance practices.

Key Elements

• Threat and Vulnerability Safeguards

Describes security measures designed to address common healthcare sector threats and system vulnerabilities.

• Identity and Access Management

Specifies frameworks for controlling user authentication, authorization, and privileged access to sensitive health data.

• Asset and Device Security

Establishes protocols for managing, securing, and monitoring medical and information technology devices.

• Network and Data Protection Measures

Outlines layered approaches for safeguarding data in transit and at rest within healthcare environments.

• Incident Response Processes

Defines structured procedures for detecting, analyzing, and responding to cybersecurity incidents.

• Governance and Compliance Oversight

Organizes policies and accountabilities to ensure continual adherence to regulatory and industry requirements.

Framework Scope

U.S. HICP (Medium Practice) is adopted by healthcare organizations, business associates, and vendors managing protected health information and clinical systems. The framework governs cybersecurity practices across healthcare IT environments and connected devices, and is typically used to address regulatory requirements, mitigate cybersecurity risks, and support compliance programs and organizational resilience.

Framework Objectives

U.S. HICP (Medium Practice) guides healthcare organizations in managing cybersecurity risks and safeguarding sensitive data.

Strengthen cybersecurity governance and foster a culture of risk management

Enhance protection of patient data through effective security controls

Support regulatory compliance with industry standards and laws

Improve operational resilience against evolving cyber threats

Promote audit readiness by maintaining documentation and monitoring activities

Enable continuous improvement of data protection and privacy practices HICP (Medium Practice) aligns with cybersecurity frameworks like NIST Cybersecurity Framework, HIPAA Security Rule, and CIS Controls, offering sector-specific guidance for U.S. healthcare organizations. It is typically adopted to strengthen operational security, meet regulatory expectations, and implement best practices for protecting healthcare sector data and critical systems.

Framework in Context

HICP (Medium Practice) aligns with cybersecurity frameworks like NIST Cybersecurity Framework, HIPAA Security Rule, and CIS Controls, offering sector-specific guidance for U.S. healthcare organizations. It is typically adopted to strengthen operational security, meet regulatory expectations, and implement best practices for protecting healthcare sector data and critical systems.

Common Framework Mappings

HICP (Medium Practice) is commonly mapped to other prominent security and privacy frameworks in healthcare and critical infrastructure to simplify compliance, unify risk assessments, and meet broad regulatory and industry requirements.

Mapped frameworks include:

CIS Controls

COBIT

HIPAA Security Rule

ISO/IEC 27001

ISO/IEC 27002

NIST Cybersecurity Framework

NIST SP 800-53

PCI DSS

SOC 2

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