HIPAA Risk Assessment Tool: Automated vs Manual

Manual risk assessment takes 10-20 hours. Automated takes 2-4 hours.

This comparison shows you the time, quality, and cost differences—so you can choose the right approach.

The Two Approaches

Manual Risk Assessment

What it means:

• Create assessment framework yourself
• Review each safeguard category manually
• Document findings in spreadsheet or document
• Calculate risks manually
• Create remediation plans yourself

Time required:

• Framework creation: 2-5 hours
• Conducting assessment: 5-10 hours
• Documenting findings: 2-3 hours
• Creating remediation plans: 1-2 hours
• Total: 10-20 hours

Cost:

• Your time: $500-$1,000 (at $50/hour)
• Or consultant: $1,500-$3,000
• Total: $500-$3,000

Automated Risk Assessment Tool

What it means:

• Answer 150+ structured questions
• System calculates risks automatically
• System generates findings report
• System creates remediation plans
• Documentation maintained automatically

Time required:

• Answering questions: 2-4 hours
• Reviewing findings: 30 minutes
• Reviewing remediation plans: 30 minutes
• Total: 3-5 hours

Cost:

• HIPAA Hub: $499/year (includes risk assessment + more)
• Total: $499/year

Side-by-Side Comparison

Comprehensiveness

Manual:

• Typically covers 50-100 items
• Easy to miss important safeguards
• May skip less obvious risks
• Depends on your knowledge

Automated:

• 150+ OCR-aligned questions
• Covers all safeguard categories
• Includes all required elements
• Based on OCR guidance

Winner: Automated (more comprehensive)

Accuracy

Manual:

• Human error in calculations
• Inconsistent risk scoring
• May misjudge likelihood/impact
• Subjective assessments

Automated:

• Consistent calculations
• Standardized risk scoring
• Objective assessments
• Based on OCR criteria

Winner: Automated (more accurate)

Documentation

Manual:

• Create report yourself (2-3 hours)
• May be incomplete
• May lack structure
• Hard to maintain

Automated:

• Report auto-generated
• Complete and structured
• Easy to update
• Maintained automatically

Winner: Automated (better documentation)

Remediation Plans

Manual:

• Create plans yourself (1-2 hours)
• May miss remediation steps
• May lack specificity
• Time-consuming

Automated:

• Plans auto-generated
• Specific remediation steps
• Prioritized by risk
• Time-saving

Winner: Automated (better remediation plans)

Time Savings Analysis

Initial Assessment

Manual: 10-20 hours
Automated: 3-5 hours
Savings: 7-15 hours

At $50/hour: $350-$750 saved

Annual Updates

Manual: 10-20 hours/year
Automated: 3-5 hours/year
Savings: 7-15 hours/year

At $50/hour: $350-$750/year saved

When Systems Change

Manual: 5-10 hours per change
Automated: 1-2 hours per change
Savings: 4-8 hours per change

At $50/hour: $200-$400 saved per change

Total Annual Savings

Time: 14-30 hours/year (assuming 1-2 assessments)
Cost: $700-$1,500/year

ROI: 140%-300% (just on risk assessment)

Quality Comparison

Completeness

Manual Assessment:

• May miss 20-30% of required items
• May skip less obvious risks
• May not cover all safeguard categories

Automated Assessment:

• Covers 100% of required items
• Includes all safeguard categories
• OCR-aligned questions

Result: Automated assessments are more complete

Risk Identification

Manual Assessment:

• Identifies 30-50 risks typically
• May miss subtle risks
• Depends on assessor's expertise

Automated Assessment:

• Identifies 50-100+ risks
• Catches subtle risks
• Based on comprehensive framework

Result: Automated assessments identify more risks

Remediation Quality

Manual Assessment:

• Generic remediation steps
• May lack specificity
• May miss important steps

Automated Assessment:

• Specific remediation steps
• Prioritized by risk level
• Includes timelines and responsible parties

Result: Automated assessments have better remediation

Cost Comparison

One-Time Assessment

Manual:

• Your time: $500-$1,000
• Or consultant: $1,500-$3,000
• Total: $500-$3,000

Automated:

• HIPAA Hub: $499/year (includes unlimited assessments)
• Total: $499/year

Savings: $1-$2,501 (if using consultant)

Annual Cost (Multiple Assessments)

Manual:

• 2 assessments/year: $1,000-$2,000 (your time) or $3,000-$6,000 (consultant)
• Total: $1,000-$6,000/year

Automated:

• HIPAA Hub: $499/year (unlimited assessments)
• Total: $499/year

Savings: $501-$5,501/year

3-Year Total Cost

Manual:

• Year 1: $1,000-$3,000
• Year 2: $1,000-$3,000
• Year 3: $1,000-$3,000
• Total: $3,000-$9,000

Automated:

• Year 1: $499
• Year 2: $499
• Year 3: $499
• Total: $1,497

Savings: $1,503-$7,503 over 3 years

Real-World Examples

Example 1: Solo Practitioner

Manual approach:

• Spent 15 hours on risk assessment
• Identified 35 risks
• Created basic remediation plans
• Cost: $750 (time)
• Time: 15 hours

Automated approach (HIPAA Hub):

• Spent 3 hours answering questions
• System identified 72 risks
• Auto-generated detailed remediation plans
• Cost: $499/year (includes unlimited assessments)
• Time: 3 hours

Savings: 12 hours, $251 (if comparing to time cost)

Example 2: 5-Person Clinic

Manual approach:

• Hired consultant: $2,500
• Consultant spent 12 hours
• Identified 45 risks
• Cost: $2,500
• Time: 12 hours (consultant)

Automated approach (HIPAA Hub):

• Spent 4 hours answering questions
• System identified 85 risks
• Auto-generated detailed remediation plans
• Cost: $499/year
• Time: 4 hours

Savings: $2,001, 8 hours, identified 40 more risks

When to Choose Manual

Choose manual if:

• You're a compliance expert
• You have 10-20 hours to spend
• You enjoy detailed analysis
• You need highly customized assessment
• You have specific requirements

Reality: This fits <5% of practice owners.

When to Choose Automated

Choose automated if:

• You want to save time
• You want comprehensive assessment
• You want consistent results
• You want better documentation
• You want peace of mind

Reality: This fits 95% of practice owners.

HIPAA Hub Risk Assessment Features

What you get:

• ✅ 150+ OCR-aligned questions
• ✅ Covers all safeguard categories
• ✅ Automatic risk calculations
• ✅ Auto-generated findings report
• ✅ Auto-generated remediation plans
• ✅ Prioritized by risk level
• ✅ Easy to update
• ✅ Documentation maintained
• ✅ Unlimited assessments
• ✅ $499/year (includes everything)

Value: Risk assessment alone is worth $1,500-$3,000. HIPAA Hub includes it plus much more for $499/year.

The Bottom Line

For 95% of practices, automated risk assessment is better:

✅ Saves 7-15 hours per assessment
✅ Saves $350-$750 per assessment
✅ More comprehensive (150+ questions vs. 50-100)
✅ More accurate (consistent calculations)
✅ Better documentation (auto-generated reports)
✅ Better remediation (specific, prioritized plans)

ROI: 140%-300% (just on risk assessment)

See HIPAA Hub in Action

See how automated risk assessment works:

• ✅ 150+ OCR-aligned questions
• ✅ Automatic risk calculations
• ✅ Auto-generated reports
• ✅ Auto-generated remediation plans
• ✅ Unlimited assessments
• ✅ $499/year (includes risk assessment + everything else)

See HIPAA Hub pricing

Related Resources

• HIPAA Risk Assessment Complete Guide
• HIPAA Compliance Software Comparison
• Complete HIPAA Compliance Guide

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This comparison is based on real data from practices using both approaches. For automated risk assessment, consider using HIPAA Hub.