5 Tips for Strengthening EHR Data Security
While electronic health records systems and databases have enabled the healthcare industry to modernize patient care and information collection, an unintended side effect is that these vulnerable systems have made also data more accessible to hackers.
And with the continuing stream of small and massive breaches, healthcare data security should be under greater scrutiny now than ever before to ensure that information is protected and breaches are infrequent.
By following a few simple guidelines, in fact, healthcare providers can enhance data security efforts.
1. Spearhead campaigns toward a culture of security. After the formation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, executives in the financial industry realized the potential cost of ignoring data security issues. Once the financial industry understood the price of ignoring security regulations, protecting data became a major priority for high-ranking executives. In the healthcare realm, however, HIPAA does not conduct similar audits or enforce compliance on the same scale. To maintain a level of security similar to the financial industry, healthcare leaders need to spearhead campaigns to lead their organizations toward a culture more focused on data security.
2. Conduct risk-assessments of EHRs. One of the reasons why the healthcare industry has been vulnerable to data theft is due to the rapid development of EHRs. While electronic records are cost-effective and key to providing better service to patients, many times the security features built into these databases are lacking.
Full article by Brandon Tanner, Government Health IT
About the Author
Roger Chu is the Marketing Coordinator at GSAmart, the leading GSA sales and marketing partner for technology companies.
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