By Editorial Staff | Reviewed by Syed Balkhi | October 16, 2024 | Reader Disclosure

Developing a HIPAA-compliant form in WordPress may seem challenging. However, there’s no need to worry – it’s entirely achievable, even without technical expertise.

At WPBeginner, our team has crafted and evaluated numerous WordPress forms while creating tutorials and examining various form plugins. Thus, we have considerable experience in tailoring WordPress forms for specific needs.

In this guide, we will outline the steps you need to follow to create a HIPAA-compliant form in WordPress.

You will discover ways to safeguard patient information and comply with legal requirements. This guide is intended for doctors, therapists, or anyone involved in managing medical data.

Please note that we are not legal professionals, and the information provided on this website should not be interpreted as legal counsel.

HIPAA, which stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, is a U.S. law designed to protect individuals’ private medical information.

Any website that operates in the United States and manages patient data, including healthcare provider sites, telehealth platforms, and online patient portals, must ensure the safety and security of this information.

Have you ever wondered why it’s essential for your forms to adhere to HIPAA regulations? The answer is straightforward: it’s a legal requirement.

Using HIPAA-compliant forms enhances the trust your patients have in you, as they will feel assured that their personal health information is safely handled. Failing to comply with HIPAA standards could lead to significant fines and consequences.

Considering this, we are here to guide you on how to create a HIPAA-compliant form using WordPress. Below is a brief overview of the topics we will discuss in this guide:

Are you ready? Let’s dive in and get started.

Designing a HIPAA-compliant form for WordPress might appear daunting, but there’s no cause for concern. With the right tools and instructions, it’s entirely achievable.

However, many form plugins do not meet HIPAA compliance because they lack crucial features necessary for safeguarding sensitive health data as mandated by the law.

Frequently, these plugins do not provide adequate encryption, secure data storage, or the option to sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with a web hosting provider.

Fortunately, we’ve conducted the necessary research, so you don’t have to. Through our efforts, we’ve identified several dependable HIPAA-compliant form builders that can assist you in fulfilling these requirements.

In this guide, we will be discussing the use of HIPAAtizer. This free plugin is noteworthy due to its thorough security features designed specifically for complying with HIPAA regulations.

Disclaimer: It is essential to ensure that your web hosting provider is also compliant with HIPAA before you create your HIPAA-compliant form.

Our research indicates that many of the most well-known web hosting companies do not meet HIPAA compliance standards.

If you’re searching for a HIPAA-compliant hosting provider, you might consider looking into Liquid Web. Additionally, you may find our guide on how to move WordPress to a new host without any downtime helpful.

Installing and Activating a HIPAA-Compliant WordPress Form Plugin

To begin, you’ll need to create a HIPAAtizer account. Visit the HIPAAtizer website and select the option to sign up for free.

Next, you will be presented with two choices for your HIPAAtizer account.

A sandbox account serves as a testing environment, allowing you to experiment without impacting real data. For genuine usage, it is necessary to select the ‘Covered Entity Account’ option.

Next, you’ll be prompted by HIPAAtizer to enter your email address.

Simply enter your email in the provided field and hit ‘Continue.’

After that, just follow the instructions to complete the setup of your new account.

Once you’ve successfully signed up, the next step is to install the HIPAAtizer plugin. If you require assistance with this process, you can refer to our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

After activating the plugin, you’ll need to link it to your account. To initiate this process, navigate to the ‘HIPAAtizer’ section in the menu on the left side of your WordPress dashboard.

In this area, choose the option for ‘I already have an account’ and press ‘Continue.’

Following this, HIPAAtizer will present you with the login form.

At this point, fill in your login details and hit the ‘Continue’ button.

After establishing a connection, you will be directed to the HIPAAtizer dashboard, which provides access to all the forms you have created through the plugin.

Creating a HIPAA-Compliant Form with the Plugin

At this point, you are prepared to design your initial HIPAA-compliant form.

To begin, navigate to HIPAAtizer » Create Form in your WordPress admin panel.

A new tab will appear, as HIPAAtizer provides the ability to create forms using its own builder separate from the WordPress admin area.

In this tab, you will find various options for form creation.

While templates are usually the preferred choice, utilizing them requires the installation of the HIPAAtizer desktop application, which can take some time.

For a more straightforward approach, opt for ‘Start from Scratch’ and then select ‘Continue.’

There’s no need to fret; it’s simpler than it seems, and we’re here to walk you through each step.

HIPAAtizer features an intuitive drag-and-drop editor, simplifying the creation of forms, even if you’re beginning from the ground up.

Below is a brief overview of the editor’s interface:

To begin, click on ‘Header 1’ to modify the title of your form. As an example, we opted for the title ‘HIPAA Authorization Form’.

Next, you can take the ‘Input Field’ from the left panel and place it into the preview area on the right to create a text box.

Once you’ve done that, you’ll be prompted to name the field. This text box can be used to request information such as the patient’s name, medical record number, telephone number, date of birth, and additional details. You also have the option to toggle switches to set the field as required or make other adjustments.

Afterward, make sure to scroll down the customization panel and select ‘Save Changes’ to keep your modifications.

Now, you can continue this process as many times as necessary to include all the essential fields for your form.

Following this, it may be necessary to include a disclosure regarding protected health information. You can introduce various ‘Displayed Options’ to create a field with multiple choices.

In the customization panel that will appear, you can modify the label, change the choices, and set the field as required.

Additionally, you have the option to add more choices by clicking the ‘Add Option’ button. Simply provide the relevant details for each choice. Remember to scroll down and select ‘Save Changes’ when you’re ready to finalize your edits.

The subsequent step is to incorporate the ‘Signature’ field into your HIPAA form. This element is crucial as it enables you to secure patient consent and authorization, ensuring that your WordPress form adheres to HIPAA regulations.

To start, just drag and drop the ‘Signature’ element to the right side of the builder and make any adjustments as needed.

For illustration:

And that’s all there is to it!

Our example HIPAA form contains just the essential elements, but you’re welcome to include additional fields to meet your requirements. Don’t hesitate to explore the input text fields and other options at your disposal.

Personalizing Your HIPAA-Compliant Form

After setting up your HIPAA-compliant form on WordPress, you may want to give it a personalized flair. To achieve this, navigate to the ‘Styling’ tab for customization.

Within this tab, various options are available for modifying your form’s appearance. Click on the ‘Create theme’ button to access the customization features.

You will now find settings that allow you to adjust the form’s dimensions, background color, typography, submit button design, and more.

For instance, upon expanding the ‘Background’ menu, a color picker will appear, allowing you to modify the default background color of the form. Next, in the ‘Fonts’ section, you’ll discover options to choose font combinations suitable for your HIPAA form.

In the ‘Submit Button’ section, you will encounter a variety of detailed styling options. Here, you can adjust the font size, border style, hover color, and many other features of your submit button.

The same applies to the ‘Labels’ settings.

Once you have completed the customization of the form, simply click the ‘Save Changes’ button to apply your updates.

You will next notice a brief notification stating ‘Successfully Updated.’

After that, simply click on the save icon located at the top right corner, provide a name for your form, and press the ‘Save’ button.

Integrating the HIPAA-Compliant Form Into Your WordPress Site

After saving your form, a new pop-up window will appear.

A pop-up will appear displaying a message indicating that the form has been saved but is not yet available online.

Just follow the instructions provided to make it live, and then click the ‘Publish’ button.

Once this step is completed, a new message will confirm that your form has been published. Next, navigate to the ‘Integrate or Embed Form’ tab.

In this section, click on the ‘WordPress’ option.

HIPAAtizer will provide you with step-by-step instructions for embedding the form into WordPress websites. At the end of the instructions, you’ll find a shortcode that you can easily copy by clicking the designated button.

Once you’ve copied the shortcode, head back to your WordPress admin area.

You can either create a new post or page or edit an existing one to insert the form. For the purpose of this guide, we will create a new page. Therefore, you will navigate to Pages » Add New Page.

In the content editor, click the ‘+’ button and look for the ‘Shortcode’ block.

Next, locate the ‘Shortcode’ block in the search results and select it to add it to your web page.

After that, paste the shortcode for the HIPAAtizer form into the space that prompts you to ‘Write shortcode here….’

If the HIPAAtizer form does not appear at this stage, there’s no need to be concerned.

Typically, embedding a shortcode means that the element will only become visible once you have published the post or page. Therefore, if you have nothing else to modify, feel free to click on the ‘Update’ or ‘Publish’ button to proceed.

You can now navigate to the post or page to observe the functionality of the HIPAA-compliant form.

However, it’s important to note that not everyone requires a WordPress HIPAA-compliant form.

HIPAA-compliant forms are generally essential for healthcare professionals, therapists, and anyone who manages sensitive patient information. If your work doesn’t involve this kind of data, a secure form may adequately meet your requirements.

To ensure the safety of your WordPress contact forms, you need two key components: a secure contact form plugin and a reliable web hosting environment. These two elements collaborate to protect your data from hackers and other security risks.

A reliable contact form plugin allows you to securely save entries on your website while providing safe email notifications.

We highly recommend WPForms, recognized as the top contact form plugin and trusted by over 6 million websites. It offers numerous features designed to safeguard your site against spam, hacking attempts, and data breaches.

Additionally, there is a free version available, WPForms Lite, which maintains high security standards, albeit with limited features.

Note: At WPBeginner, we enthusiastically endorse WPForms. We utilize it for all our contact forms, reader surveys, and lead generation. For more details about the tool, feel free to explore our comprehensive review.

If you’re yet to choose one, it’s essential to find a dependable hosting provider to ensure the security of your WordPress forms.

We recommend Bluehost due to our extensive experience with this provider, which allows us to confidently endorse their outstanding customer support and performance capabilities.

Additionally, Bluehost provides free SSL certificates. SSL, or Secure Sockets Layer, safeguards the data exchanged between a user’s browser and your site, helping to protect against data theft by hackers.

Other reliable web hosting alternatives include SiteGround and Hostinger.

For comprehensive instructions, please consult our guide on creating a secure contact form in WordPress.

In this section, we will address some of the most commonly asked questions regarding the creation of HIPAA-compliant forms in WordPress.

Is it feasible to establish a HIPAA-compliant WordPress site?

Yes, it is feasible. However, you will need appropriate plugins, secure hosting, and stringent protocols to safeguard patient information.

Is HIPAA-compliant web hosting necessary?

If your medical website processes patient information, then HIPAA-compliant web hosting is essential. This type of hosting ensures that patient data is stored and communicated securely, which is crucial for protecting privacy and ensuring compliance with legal obligations.

Which WordPress plugin is ideal for medical forms?

HIPAAtizer is a widely recognized option. It comes equipped with numerous features and can be tailored to adhere to HIPAA regulations.

We trust that this article has guided you in creating a HIPAA-compliant form using WordPress. You may also find it beneficial to explore our tutorials on how to secure your WordPress forms with a password and how to redirect users following form submissions.

If you enjoyed this article, consider subscribing to our YouTube channel for engaging WordPress video tutorials. We are also active on social media, so you can connect with us on Twitter and join our community on Facebook.

Syed Balkhi

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