SOC 2 for Healthcare
Integrate SOC 2 examination into your larger GRC strategy
Meditology's proven and tailored approach helps clients demonstrate adherence to SOC 2 compliance standards, aligned with the AICPA’s Trust Services Criteria for security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. In addition to meeting a compliance need, Meditology can help you integrate your SOC 2 examination into a larger GRC strategy. A SOC 2 examination can help you ensure your security controls are aligned with your business and regulatory requirements.
Meditology’s SOC 2 compliance readiness assessment and SOC 2 examination process can help your organization achieve compliance by:
- Providing guidance on the AICPA’s SOC 2 requirements prior to the SOC 2 examination. Reviewing the policies and procedures relevant to SOC 2 examinations.
- Identifying gaps within your organization’s control environment by assessing the design and operating effectiveness of technical, physical, and procedural controls.
- Assisting with the remediation of control gaps by ensuring existing controls are designed optimally, documented appropriately, and operating effectively.
- Facilitating the exchange of control documentation and testing evidence during the execution of the SOC 2 examination.
SOC 2 Type 2 examination reports have become one of the most common and cost-effective vehicles for demonstrating controls relevant to security, availability, confidentiality, processing integrity and privacy to your customers and partners. SOC 2 examinations are fast becoming table stakes to provide products and services to healthcare entities.
What Is SOC 2 Compliance?
SOC 2 compliance is an industry agnostic cybersecurity framework that evaluates best practices for handling sensitive data. While voluntary, SOC 2 compliance helps to enhance customer trust and equip them with confidence that their sensitive data is protected.
SOC 2 Type 2 compliance affirms control design and operating effectiveness over a period of time, while SOC 2 Type 1 reports examine control design at a particular point in time.
Meditology Assurance is a an experienced assessor for SOC 2 examinations and licensed CPA firm. Our healthcare security experts frequently advise healthcare executives on best practices for going through SOC 2 examinations.
Many organizations opt to obtain both HITRUST CSF Certification and SOC 2 reports simultaneously. Obtaining both reports as part of one security initiative provides a cost-effective means of demonstrating effective security and privacy practices.
While SOC 2 reports can be obtained by a wide range of industries, many of the security controls demonstrate compliance with HIPAA, which is an additional bonus for healthcare organizations and the businesses serving them. Meditology was founded by healthcare operators who bring an unmatched understanding of clinical, compliance, and business realities to every engagement.
If you would like more information about SOC 2 examinations, click these links to read some of our related blog posts.
What Sets Meditology's SOC 2 Compliance Services Apart
HIPAA expert witness firm for OCR
Experienced CISOs and Privacy Officers
Dedicated to healthcare
Hundreds of clients coast to coast
Advisors to ONC / HHS
Frequently Asked Questions About Third Party Risk Management
What is a SOC 2 audit?
A SOC 2 is an examination or attestation that provides an auditor's opinion about the design of specific controls at a point in time (Type 1 report) or the design and operating effectiveness of those controls over a period of time (Type 2 report).
The controls fit into a compliance framework published by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). It consists of trust services criteria (TSC) organized into five categories:
- Security (also called the Common Criteria)
- Availability
- Processing Integrity
- Confidentiality
- Privacy
You must include the Security category in your examination scope, but the other categories are optional. For more information on the trust services criteria, visit this link 🡪 The Five Categories of the AICPA Trust Services Criteria - Meditology Services
How much does a SOC 2 audit cost?
The cost of a SOC 2 audit varies depending on the number of controls being tested, number of systems/applications in scope, Type 1 versus Type 2 report, and the Type 2 reporting period. Another factor is if your organization wants to perform SOC 2 readiness and obtain remediation assistance before having the actual audit completed.
What is the SOC 2 audit process?
The SOC 2 audit process involves designing and documenting controls to satisfy the AICPA’s trust services criteria (TSC), drafting a narrative version of the controls (i.e., system description), proving (through evidence testing, interviews, etc.) the controls are operating effectively, and documentation of the above. Here are links to articles with more information:
Demystifying the SOC 2 Process - Meditology Services
Selecting the Right SOC 2 Compliance Vendor | Meditology
The Five Categories of the AICPA Trust Services Criteria - Meditology Services
What is a SOC 2 Type 2?
A SOC 2 Type 2 examination is a report that provides an opinion on the design and operating effectiveness of the controls over a set time period (e.g., 10/1/25 to 9/30/26). This means the auditor determined whether the controls were designed and operated effectively throughout the entire period covered by the report.
How long does a SOC 2 audit take?
This answer depends on several factors. The first one concerns the SOC 2 Trust Services Criteria (TSC), which are relevant to your organization. Additional factors, which can impact the length of the examination process, include:
- The size of your organization
- The maturity of your information security program
- The number of systems/applications in scope
- The resources you have available to assist the auditing firm with gathering evidence
- Existing governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) tools you are using
Another key factor is the reporting period of the SOC 2 report. Most of the auditor’s testing procedures take place towards the very end of the reporting period and the month afterwards. If you have a 12-month reporting period which ends in September, the auditor’s primary work occurs during September and October. Overall, SOC 2 audits should not be completed in a matter of days. They may take several weeks to several months, depending on key factors.
What do I receive when my SOC 2 audit is complete?
You receive an examination report which contains at least four sections:
Auditor’s Opinion – This section is the formal opinion by the service auditor which contains standard language required by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). The auditor’s opinion details the scope of the report, the effective date or reporting period, and the auditor’s opinion regarding the design and effectiveness of the controls contained in the system description (Section 3).
Management’s Assertion – This section is an assertion from the service organization stating that the organization has prepared the system description covered by the report. This section also has statements from the organization saying the description is accurate, and that the controls were designed (Type 1) and operating effectively (Type2) for the designated effective date or reporting period.
System Description – The system description provides information regarding the system(s) in scope, the relevant services provided by the service organization, and a narrative version of the controls which were tested by the service auditor.
Trust Services Categories, Criteria, Related Controls, and Tests of Controls – In a SOC 2 Type 2 report, this section contains a table showing the applicable SOC 2 trust services criteria (TSC), the service organization’s controls related to each TSC, the service auditors testing procedures, and the results of the tests. This section will tell you if the auditor noted any exceptions during their testing procedures. In a Type 1 report, this section will not include the results of the control tests.
[OPTIONAL] – Other Information Provided by the Service Organization – Some SOC 2 reports may have a section 5 which contains other information provided by the service organization to anyone reading the report. Information in this section varies but is generally either manag
How long is a SOC 2 report valid?
The SOC 2 report doesn’t have an expiration date as the report is looking at a specific period. However, organizations should be having a SOC 2 Type 2 examination at least annually. If the period covered by the report is more than a year old, you can ask that organization for their most recent report.
How often does a SOC 2 audit need to be performed?
After the first SOC 2 Type 2 examination, the audit is performed every 12 months.
Who is involved in a SOC 2 audit?
This will depend on your organization’s size and structure. Typically, individuals from compliance, information technology, and/or information security are tasked with providing evidence to the auditor. Your application development team could also be involved to provide information regarding change management and SDLC controls.
What happens if my auditor detects compliance issues in my SOC 2 report?
That will depend on what type of control failures were noted. Specific control failures are noted within the testing results section adjacent to the affected control(s). For example, let’s assume you have a control stating new hires complete information security training within 30 days of their start date. During the test, the auditor sampled 15 employees but only 13 completed their training within 30 days. The exception might read, “2 of 15 sampled new hire employees did not complete information security training within 30 days of their start date.”
For multiple exceptions or several control exceptions within one specific trust services criteria (TSC) section, the auditor may issue a qualified opinion. A qualified opinion means the results of the auditor’s tests concluded that one or more SOC 2 TSC did not have sufficient controls which were designed and operated effectively during the reporting period. This is a greater indication of design and/or operating effectiveness failures than individual control exceptions. The qualification will be noted within the auditor’s opinion section within the report