How secure is your patient data?
In 2022, up to 550 US healthcare organizations experienced data breaches. These cyber-attacks affected over 40 million individuals when private medical information was stolen.
As a healthcare office, do you know how secure your patients’ medical data is?
This blog will share six cybersecurity tips to help you secure your patient’s confidential data.
Improve Your Healthcare Office Cybersecurity
Recent surveys find over 75% of healthcare facilities have been victims of cyberattacks, and 58% of those attacks were against small businesses that did not have the technology resources of the larger medical conglomerates (source: 2018 HIMSS Healthcare Cybersecurity Survey).
If you are a healthcare office—think chiropractor, acupuncture, dentist, orthodontist, or periodontist—and want to increase your cybersecurity protections, these six tips can get you started in the right direction.
6 Tips to Secure Your Healthcare Office
1. It’s All About Strategy—as with almost every aspect of running a healthcare office, an effective security strategy is the best way to keep your patient data safe. At a minimum, your strategy will need to take into account the following:
- Balanced approach to people and technology
- Proven network management and physical security standards
- Wide range of network monitoring and mobility management tools
- Thorough vetting for a 3rd party vendor
- Educate, educate, and educate. All staff members must know how to protect their devices that connect to your network to avoid an unintentional breach.
2. Do you have weaknesses?
- Ask yourself this question about your business often and perform audits which include penetration testing (the hiring of a white hat, “ethical” hacker to attempt a breach of your network.). This process can help you determine where your vulnerabilities are and correct them before they become a serious problem.
3. How strong is your infrastructure?
- From firewalls and antivirus to endpoint device management and everything in between, you must clearly understand how these tools work to protect your patients. There are many moving parts in managing a healthcare office’s technology network, and sometimes it’s in your best interest to hire a managed service provider to help you out.
4. Write it down
- The fastest way to memorize something is to write it out. While memorizing your entire cyber strategy is not the end goal, having a good portion of it available at the drop of a hat can be the difference between a successful hack…or a successful block. Plus, having a written copy that is easily accessible to all your IT staff can help ensure a cohesive strategy for securing your data.
5. Do you know who is in your network?
- Securing an information technology network in the age of the Internet of Things can sometimes feel like trying to plug the hole in the dam with your finger. Eventually, you run out of resources, and everything tumbles down. As staff comes and goes, you have to figure out how to keep devices from becoming a gateway to your network and patient data. Strategies such as network segmentation, event monitoring systems, or security information can work together to detect any suspicious events before they can cause harm.
6. Cyber Attack Quick Response Plan
- Does your staff know when and how to report an incident? Just like you need a security plan, you need a response plan in case a breach occurs. Response plans should include the following steps:
- Response
- Report Crime
- Report Threat
- Assess Breach
IT Support for Healthcare Offices
With experience with various industries, Clarity Technology Group specializes in helping the healthcare sector remain HIPAA compliant by protecting patient data. With comprehensive cybersecurity plans, we focus on prevention to keep your patient’s sensitive data safe from hackers.
Are you a healthcare office in the Greater Madison Area looking for IT support? Schedule a free assessment with the Clarity team to learn more about the services we provide.