The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was passed in 1996 to guarantee privacy when it comes to your medical information. Anyone with access to your health records must follow HIPAA guidelines, which includes knowing how to protect patient information against a data breach. According to HIPAA, companies must disclose breaches, meaning most would rather avoid them. Luckily, you can with the help of these tips.
Conduct a Risk Assessment
Healthcare companies must perform an annual HIPAA security risk analysis to ensure they remain compliant. You can perform these assessments to identify areas of vulnerability and improvement within your operations. The analysis can expose potential threats to IT systems and other areas where you may need to increase your cybersecurity budget.
Secure Data Properly
Once you know where your systems are most vulnerable, you should start adjusting to keep protected health information (PHI) safe. Protecting patient data by digitizing records is the most common route, as it gives you the ability to manipulate, encrypt, and audit your records. You can also save and share them with cloud storage options.
Develop a BYOD Policy
Help your IT department by implementing a strict “bring your own device” policy. The policy should describe which devices staff can use at work and whether they can connect them to the building’s network. You should also dictate which devices staff can use externally and internally as well as which ones they can take home. These policies allow your IT staff to handle breaches.
Provide Ongoing HIPAA Education
Train your staff so they know how to protect patient information against a data breach. Ongoing education will remind your employees to monitor records and devices. Teach staff about the consequences of a data breach and train them on how to protect their own health records. Understanding the importance of protecting PHI will help motivate them toward a culture of security.
A data breach can happen at any time, and it is the responsibility of medical centers to report those breaches. Ongoing risk assessments, staff education, and policy updates will keep your facility prepared for the worst.
