Healthcare workers and providers have to balance protecting patient privacy while still delivering proper patient care.
Correct data security in the healthcare industry is a lot harder than it might seem. Healthcare workers and providers have to balance protecting patient privacy while still delivering proper patient care and meeting the strict guidelines set up by HIPAA and other laws and regulations. Protected healthcare information is among a person’s most private and sensitive data, so it has to be prioritized in proper cyber and data security measures. Healthcare workers have to take a more proactive approach to implementing modern and smart practices for healthcare security. Read on for a few of the best data and network security tips for all healthcare employees!
Educate All of the Healthcare Staff Members
The human element remains one of the most relevant threats to security across multiple industries, but mostly within the healthcare industry. Simple human error and negligence might result in disastrous and expensive consequences for a lot of healthcare organizations. Security awareness training will help your healthcare employees by giving them legitimate knowledge that is necessary for making intelligent choices and using suitable caution while handling patient data.
Restricting Access to Data and Applications in Healthcare
Implementing access controls will help bolster healthcare data security by restricting access to any patient information and specific applications to only the users who require access for their jobs. Access restrictions require user authentication, ensuring only certified users can access valuable personal data. Multi-factor authentication is a smart approach, which requires users to validate that they’re the person who is attempting to gain any access to a very specific database and applications using two or more different validation methods.
Implementing Data Usage Controls in Your Systems
Protective data controls go way beyond the benefits of access controls and monitoring to help ensure that malicious or risky data activity could be blocked and flagged. Healthcare organizations could use data controls to prevent different actions involving sensitive client or employee data, like web uploads, unauthorized email sends, and printing. Data discovery and classification will play a serious role in this process by ensuring that sensitive data could be identified and labeled to receive the proper level of protection.
Monitor and Log-In Usage
Logging and monitoring all usage and access data is also important. This allows providers and other business associates to monitor which users are accessing applications, information, and other resources, when and from devices and locations. These logs are helpful for auditing, helping all organizations locate areas of concern and strengthen protective measures when required.
If you’d like to learn more about how we can help protect your healthcare facility’s network and data, give En-Net Services a call today!
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