Knowing where to begin. That’s the biggest challenge most healthcare leaders face when it comes to maturing their cybersecurity programs. From HIPAA requirements to NIST frameworks, the regulations and risks can feel overwhelming. That’s why a risk assessment is often the smartest first step.
The Problem to Solve
Healthcare organizations are required to conduct periodic risk assessments to comply with HIPAA and other standards. But internal teams often lack the time, expertise, or resources to do them comprehensively. That’s why you need to find a vendor who can go beyond a checkbox.
“Just checking a box does not help protect your organization,” explains Scott McIntosh, Vice President of Risk Services at Fortified Health Security. “You have to find a company that offers deep healthcare expertise, industry best practices, and a process that mirrors the rigor OCR expects. That’s why Fortified has maintained a 100% success rate when regulators review our assessments.”
The Fortified Process
A risk assessment should be more than a report; it’s the start of an ongoing partnership. From kickoff to corrective action planning, the process ensures organizations have both a clear picture of their risk landscape and a path forward.
Four key steps define our process:
- Discovery & Scoping – We align on your environment, goals, and constraints.
- On-site or Remote Review – Fortified assessors evaluate physical, administrative, and technical controls, often going beyond interviews to include evidence review and light social engineering.
- Gap & Risk Analysis – Findings are mapped to NIST and HIPAA, highlighting vulnerabilities across your environment.
- Final Deliverable – You receive a prioritized roadmap with actionable recommendations.
Unlike firms that deliver a static report and walk away, Fortified continues with Corrective Action Plan (CAP) calls, working alongside your team to remediate high-priority risks and track progress in our Central Command platform.
Summit Medical Group: A Case Study in Action
When Rachael Britt-McGraw became CIO of Summit Medical Group, she faced significant cybersecurity gaps, from password complexity issues to missing policies and training. With 92 locations across Tennessee, Summit needed a clear baseline to prioritize improvements.
A nearby hospital breach underscored the urgency. “We had to disconnect all our portals from the Children’s Hospital network to avoid being impacted,” Britt-McGraw recalls.
Summit partnered with Fortified for a comprehensive risk assessment that included site visits, operational reviews, and customized templates to fast-track missing policies. The assessment also introduced Summit’s board to Fortified’s Security Posture Analysis, a powerful way to communicate vulnerabilities and progress over time.
The results?
- A change from reactive to proactive cybersecurity practices
- Increased board support for security resources
- Improved morale and confidence within the IT team
- Clear evidence of maturity progress
“The risk assessments conducted by Fortified have been crucial to our cybersecurity maturity, but it’s their partnership approach that truly sets them apart,” says Britt-McGraw.
Why Risk Assessment is the Starting Point
If you are a large healthcare group like Summit Medical center, or a rural hospital with limited resources, a risk assessmentis the gateway to cybersecurity maturity.
An assessment can help you:
- Establish a baseline to guide priorities
- Gain independent validation to secure leadership buy-in
- Prepare for OCR audits with confidence
- Build a long-term roadmap toward resilience
As McIntosh puts it, “The risk assessment gives us such a wide scope and vision of a program that it becomes the gateway to everything else. It’s where the journey begins.”
Ready to See Your Risks Clearly?
At Fortified Health Security, our approach to risk assessments goes beyond a compliance checkbox. We help healthcare organizations understand their true security posture, prioritize critical vulnerabilities, and build a roadmap toward resilience.
To learn more, contact us or read more about how our Risk Assessments have helped guide our healthcare clients.
