How to Achieve HIPAA Compliance in SharePoint and Microsoft 365
What is HIPAA?
HIPAA, short for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, is a U.S. law designed to protect sensitive electronic patient health information (ePHI). It sets national standards for how this information can be accessed, used, and shared. Under HIPAA, health plans, healthcare providers, and their business partners must follow strict privacy and security rules to keep patient data safe. The law also requires that individuals and the government be notified if a data breach occurs.
How to Become HIPAA Compliant?
Under the HIPAA Security Rule (45 CFR § 164.312(b)), covered entities and business associates must implement “audit controls that record and examine activity in systems containing ePHI.” In other words, you must be able to track exactly who accessed what, when, where, and how.
HIPAA also requires that all audit and security documentation — including access logs — be retained for at least six years (45 CFR § 164.316(b)(2)(i)).
HIPAA and Microsoft 365
Many organizations rely heavily on Microsoft 365 and SharePoint to store and share electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI). These systems offer powerful collaboration features — but HIPAA compliance requires more than secure file storage.
HIPAA requires that all audit logs and security documentation be kept for 6 years. As a result, many organizations that store their information in SharePoint fall short in being fully HIPAA compliant since Microsoft 365 only keeps their audit logs for 180 days (Standard licenses) or 1 year (E5). Beyond that, critical audit data is deleted — leaving compliance gaps, potential fines, and exposure on the HHS “Wall of Shame.”
Implications of HIPAA Non-Compliance
Without a reliable way to preserve and analyze these audit logs, organizations risk being unable to prove compliance during an audit or investigation. Missing audit trails mean you can’t demonstrate how ePHI was protected or accessed — a serious risk under HIPAA enforcement.
HIPAA Penalties:
Non-compliance with HIPAA isn't just a paperwork issue - it can lead to hefty financial penalties, damage to your oganizations reputation, and public exposure on the US Department of Health and Human Services "Wall of Shame".
Healthcare providers and their partners have fines reaching into the millions for missing their complete audit trails. Protecting your organization means ensuring you can always prove who accessed your ePHI - and when.
How to Become HIPAA Compliant using Microsoft 365
Audit Vault for M365 bridges this gap. Audit Vault automatically collects, preserves, and secures audit logs from SharePoint, Exchange, Teams, and Entra ID in a tamper-resistant, long-term repository.
With Audit Vault for M365, you can:
- Preserve all M365 audit events for six years or longer — meeting HIPAA retention rules
- Quickly search and report on who accessed or modified sensitive records
- Maintain a verifiable chain of custody for every audit record
- Support investigations and audits with fast, simple reporting
- Avoid the high cost and complexity of custom development or manual exports
Benefits of Audit Vault for M365 for HIPAA Compliance
With Audit Vault for M365, you gain peace of mind knowing your audit trails are complete, compliant, and ready when you need them. Achieve a fully integrated solution with your Microsoft 365 environment with fast setup, clear reports, and long-term audit retention without the overhead in complexity and cost.
If you’re responsible for HIPAA compliance or IT governance in Microsoft 365, now is the time to act.
Contact us today to discuss how Audit Vault for M365 can help your organization achieve HIPAA compliance in SharePoint and Microsoft 365 — or request a free evaluation to see it in action.