Third-Party Print Vendors and HITRUST: Yes, You Can Have Both

In industries where sensitive information flows through every communication—from healthcare to finance—working with external partners like print and mail vendors is often a business necessity. But for organizations committed to HITRUST compliance, outsourcing anything involving PHI or PII can feel like navigating a legal minefield.

The good news? It is possible to work with third-party vendors in the print and mail industry without compromising your HITRUST certification. In fact, with the right controls and technologies in place, outsourcing can become both secure and scalable.

Let’s walk through how compliance teams can confidently engage third-party communication partners while maintaining the trust, privacy, and audit readiness that HITRUST demands.

When it comes to HITRUST, third-party risk isn’t just a concern—it’s a key part of the framework. HITRUST makes it clear: you are responsible for protecting sensitive data, even when a vendor is handling the output.

This is especially relevant in print and mail, where vendors often receive data files containing names, addresses, account numbers, or even clinical information. These are all in scope for HITRUST CSF controls.

To work safely with a third-party vendor:

• Classify the data you’re sharing.
• Define exactly what the vendor needs to do with it.
• Assign responsibilities using the shared responsibility model.

Best Practice: Make sure vendors understand they are acting as Business Associates (under HIPAA) or data processors (under GDPR), and that they must uphold security controls accordingly.

While it’s ideal to partner with HITRUST-certified vendors, not all print and mail shops will carry formal certification. That doesn’t automatically disqualify them—but it does mean more diligence is required.

Look for vendors who can:

• Demonstrate alignment to HITRUST controls (such as NIST 800-53, ISO 27001)
• Provide current documentation on their security practices
• Show evidence of annual audits, penetration testing, and access control measures
• Support client-specific compliance requirements contractually

If the vendor works with multiple healthcare clients or has a proven history of protecting PHI, that’s a strong indicator they understand what’s at stake.

One of the smartest ways to reduce third-party risk is to limit what data leaves your walls in the first place. In print and mail, that means exploring tools that can prepare or “clean” print files before sending them to your vendor.

Solutions like Solimar Systems’ ReadyPDF offer obfuscation features that remove or mask sensitive data during prepress workflows. This means the files your vendors receive are production-ready, but do not contain live PII or PHI.

Obfuscation has two major benefits:

• It dramatically reduces the vendor’s compliance burden
• It protects you in the event of a breach or process failure

Compliance Insight: In many cases, once data is de-identified or masked, it’s no longer considered regulated data under HITRUST or HIPAA guidelines.

Contracts with print and mail partners must be more than service-level agreements—they’re an extension of your compliance posture.
Ensure your Business Associate Agreement (BAA) or Master Service Agreement (MSA) includes:

• Obligations to follow security policies aligned with HITRUST CSF
• Requirements to notify you immediately in the event of an incident
• Language on subcontractor use and downstream protections
• A right to audit or request evidence of ongoing control management

You should also define how the vendor will return, destroy, or archive data once it’s no longer in use.

Compliance is never static. Your vendor’s environment, processes, or team may change—so you need a mechanism to continuously validate their controls.
Recommended practices include:

• Annual compliance reviews or vendor self-assessments
• Security questionnaires mapped to HITRUST CSF domains
• Site visits for high-volume or high-risk vendors
• Quarterly check-ins during change management windows

If the vendor introduces new technology, opens a new facility, or changes their data flow—ask for an updated risk assessment.

Often, risk doesn’t originate from the vendor—it starts internally, when teams bypass compliance protocols to get work done faster. Make sure your procurement, marketing, and IT teams understand:

• When a vendor needs to sign a BAA
• When data must be de-identified before handoff
• Who should be looped in to validate third-party processes

Build these checkpoints into your project lifecycle and onboarding workflows. Compliance works best when it’s built into operations—not bolted on at the end.

The print and mail industry remains a critical partner in healthcare and financial communications. And while HITRUST standards are rigorous, they’re not incompatible with outsourcing—so long as you build the right guardrails.

By combining clear vendor expectations, data minimization strategies, contractual protections, and ongoing oversight, compliance teams can enable safe collaboration with external partners without risking a single control point.

Working with third-party vendors and staying HITRUST compliant isn’t just possible—it’s practical. It just takes preparation, precision, and a proactive approach.