>How tosafeguard sensitive information in the healthcare field
Healthcare institutions, healthcare centers and healthcare providers in general handle a large amount of confidential and valuable data on each of their patients and associates. This makes them a target for potential cyber-attacks or security breaches.
Security breaches, even at the smallest level, can take a healthcare organization's network offline, cause the loss of sensitive data, and result in large losses in compensation and damages.
Here are three important points that you should take into account to maintain and reinforce the security of your patients' and associates' data:
>Safetyfrom the very first link
Staff, medical or administrative, who handle sensitive information are always a link in the security chain that needs to be looked at in detail. IT security best practices can be rendered obsolete if a person clicks on a link they shouldn't or creates a password that is easy to crack.
The training and professionalization of human talent is a fundamental part of promoting the responsibility of information security in the culture of the institution or health center. Attention should be paid to how to guarantee security when working online or with specialized software: closing sessions or protocols for sending confidential information are key points.
Similarly, it is essential to train staff in practices on how to prevent phishing schemes. In this regard, it is recommended to conduct fake phishing tests to identify which employees within the organization should be trained as a priority.
>Securityand roles: who has the keys?
It is important for a healthcare facility's IT security to be based on the roles played by each of the people who work there. Implementing role-based security procedures minimizes the risk of important information being leaked or stolen, prevents malicious employees from accessing any information they want, and keeps your organization in compliance with HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) by preventing employees from accidentally accessing confidential patient and associate information without authorization.
In this regard, it is recommended that employees be assigned different levels of security clearance depending on how important it is for them to have access to that information. For example, a nurse may have access to a patient's medical records, while an accountant who manages the facility's finances may have access to financial accounts and programs without the two accesses being cumulative.
>IT services are yourbest ally
The task of complying with regulations and preventing data leaks is complex and constantly evolving. Even if a healthcare facility has its employees trained in security and implements protocols at each of its management levels, there must be an IT area focused exclusively on the technical part of the security of the systems used by the organization.
Robust cyber security systems with multiple layers of protection, including software, hardware and IT professionals trained to monitor and repair the network, ensure that both the network and the private information it contains remain secure. Managed IT services are the best way to comprehensively protect your network from hackers or any other vulnerabilities that may arise.
It is important to understand the risks involved in the disclosure of private information related to medical practices in order to be able to measure the security that must be in place in each of the health center's or institution's procedures. Prevention in this aspect is essential to emphatically avoid any event that could have repercussions both for your patients and for your reputation as a service provider.
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