We cannot deny that technology makes healthcare easier, faster, and more efficient. What’s more, it helps practitioners recognize symptoms, make diagnoses, and communicate with their patients in a timelier manner.
However, with all good things, there tends to be a drawback. All online technology is perceptible by hackers on the internet, which can prove devastating for patients and hospitals. Here is how to ensure cybersecurity in the healthcare industry.
Medical Shredding
Medical documents contain extremely confidential information detailing a patient’s age, conditions, symptoms, and a range of related data. As such, there are various laws and regulations enforced in order to protect such confidential records. In that, healthcare facilities must remain compliant to abide HIPPA and privacy laws.
In order to do so, healthcare facilities must burn, pulverize, or destroy related information that is no longer valuable to the facility yet is still a protected record. Medical shredding helps prevent fraud or theft that can damage a hospital’s reputation and put its patients at risk.
Software Updates
Outdated software can become a serious weak spot for which hackers can easily enter to access patient information. In order to ensure cybersecurity in the healthcare industry, software updates must occur in a consistent and timely manner.
You might think you can forgo these updates as they might be frivolous, but that is incorrect. Software updates usually address any bugs or issues within the system and rectify them.
Smaller practices may be able to apply updates when they see fit. However, larger practices must keep a sharp eye on any and all updates that come through from their vendor system. In fact, many larger facilities will usually perform software updates daily.
Cybersecurity Training
Many in the field of cybersecurity often say that the most significant detriment is the users themselves. As such, it is incredibly important for healthcare facilities to administer cybersecurity training to everyone who utilizes this technology.
Often, users may not understand the seriousness of maintaining the best technological security practices. Security training that educates users on implementing and enforcing security practices is crucial to keeping patient information safe.
Install a Firewall
While the Hippocratic Oath serves to ensure physicians personally keep patient information confidential, an oath cannot protect the data that exists online. However, there are still many ways to keep that information safeguarded.
One way is through the installation of a firewall; any technological device that can connect to the internet should have one. The software you have already installed on your devices helps detect any suspicious activity in the system. A firewall is the defense you need that keeps any unauthorized users from ever even entering.
Make a Plan
Even with the best practices implemented to detect and deflect unauthorized users from accessing confidential information, we cannot deny the fact that anything can happen.
That is why your healthcare facility must create a plan for any event that may occur that can affect these records. As such, ensure you make backups and create a plan for recovery. That way, if anything occurs, you have a system to follow.
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