HIPAA Glossary · Security Rule concepts
Physical safeguards
Facility access controls, workstation security, and device and media controls, including disposal.
Context
Four standards at §164.310. Remote-first organisations routinely write this section off with "we have no offices" — which fails: home offices are physical environments, laptops are devices, and the disposal chain for departed employees' hardware still exists. See [the physical safeguards guide](/guides/hipaa-physical-safeguards/).
Related terms
- Administrative safeguards — The management layer of the Security Rule — risk analysis, workforce security, training, incident procedures, contingency planning, evaluation.
- Technical safeguards — Access control, audit controls, integrity, authentication, and transmission security for ePHI.
Where this fits
This is one of 50+ terms in the HIPAA Glossary. For how HIPAA is structured end-to-end, see the Security Rule guide and the Privacy Rule guide.