CIRQ (the Certification Institute for Research Quality), an International Standards Organization (ISO) audit and certification body that is a subsidiary of the Insights Association, has awarded certification to Rare Patient Voice for compliance to ISO 27001, one of the most widely recognized and internationally accepted information security standards.
Accredited certification to ISO 27001 involves undertaking regular reviews and internal audits to ensure the continual improvement of the information security management system (ISMS). Towson, Maryland-based Rare Patient Voice’s certification will be verified annually by CIRQ’s independent audit establishing continued compliance and protection of data.
ISO 27001 provides a framework for companies to manage their data security. It establishes requirements for information controls to manage people, processes, and technology. The standard covers both the technological aspects of security as well as corporate security, physical security, etc., and relies on regular risk assessments enabling a company to consistently identify and treat security threats. ISO 27001 is accepted worldwide as an assurance that proper and continual measures have been taken to protect valuable company data.
The Rare Patient Voice Information Security Management System (ISMS) scope covers the corporate infrastructure, systems and services required to deliver market research services to its clients and support the internal business processes. These include cloud-based services and platforms for the delivery of market research, a patient and caregiver database, a survey management platform, Google G-Suite, File Management Platform, human resources, finance and project management.
“Protection of data is critical in doing business today. At Rare Patient Voice, we take adhering to the highest security standards very seriously, for our company, our clients, and the patients and family caregivers who make up our panel,” said Wes Michael, president and founder of Rare Patient Voice. “We are pleased to have received ISO 27001 certification from CIRQ and to be able to provide further proof of our conscientiousness in this area to those with whom we do business.”
To achieve ISO certification, Rare Patient Voice engaged in an in-depth risk assessment, a comprehensive review of all information security policies and procedures, and internal audits. As a further step in the validation, the company’s information security management system was assessed via review of its documentation, practices, and controls.
About ISO 27001
ISO 27001 provides requirements for establishing, implementing, maintaining and continually improving an information security management system. The information security management system preserves the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information by applying a risk management process and gives confidence to interested parties that risks are adequately managed. It is important that the information security management system is integrated with the organization’s processes and overall management structure and that information security is considered in the design of processes, information systems, and controls. It is expected that an information security management system implementation will be scaled in accordance with the needs of the organization. This International Standard can be used by internal and external parties to assess the organization’s ability to meet information security requirements. ISO 27001 can be mapped to other information security schemes such as HITRUST, NIST and Soc2. Compliance with the standard also enables a company to meet global security laws, such as the NIS Directive and the GDPR.
About Rare Patient Voice
Rare Patient Voice, LLC provides patients and caregivers an opportunity to participate in all types of research including market research, health economics outcomes and real-world evidence, user experience/human factors studies, and clinical trials. RPV has a panel of over 100,000 patients and caregivers across more than 750 diseases, both rare and non-rare. Visit us at www.rarepatientvoice.com.
About CIRQ
A subsidiary of the Insights Association, CIRQ (the Certification Institute for Research Quality) was established to provide assessment and certification services to market research firms seeking certification to ISO 20252:2019 and ISO/IEC 27001:2013. A non-profit entity, CIRQ is committed to providing timely, thorough, and impartial assessments of its customers' research process management or information security management systems in regard to certification to corresponding standards. CIRQ was established in compliance with all ISO requirements for certification bodies that provide auditing and certification services and is fully accredited by ANSI’s National Accreditation Board. To conform to its mandate of objective and impartial audits to these ISO standards, CIRQ is independently operated and managed under the oversight of an independent Board of Directors and submits to annual moderation by external authorities on ISO certification bodies.