In April 2020 alone, there were an astonishing 37 data breaches affecting 500 or more records each, falling close to the 2019 average of 41.9 data breaches each month.
While hacking and incidents with IT issues were the leading causes of healthcare breaches, unauthorized access and unauthorized disclosure incidents and theft of portable electronic devices were close behind.
All healthcare entities are subject to strict compliance regulations that govern data privacy and protection, including HIPAA, among others.
The HIPAA rule specifically states that a covered entity must protect individually identifiable health information held or transmitted in any form, electronic, paper, or verbal.
With more hospitals and health systems facing increased financial pressure due to the recent outbreak of COVID-19, finding cost-effective and compliant security solutions is becoming a primary business goal.
Protecting and Managing Electronic Health Records Using Best Practices
An electronic medical record (EMR) or electronic health record (EHR) is software that documents, shares, stores, and analyzes information about the individual care of specific patients. These records can be hosted on-premises or remotely.
Currently three-quarters of office-based clinicians and almost 100% of hospitals in the U.S. use an EHR system, while others are still working to transition to digital records. Optimizing these records and increasing their integration with other systems in your office helps improve efficiency and contributes to higher quality patient care.
Small practices using EHR technology often have no in-house IT department, or very limited in-house IT capabilities, which can contribute to the complexities of proper compliance and management of these records.
Fortunately, managed IT services, a strong enterprise content management (ECM) system, and managed print services can combine to offer exceptional cybersecurity for small medical practices, as well as significant cost savings.
Managed IT for Healthcare
Managed IT brings a comprehensive knowledge of a strong IT team to the small practice for a recurring monthly fee. You’ll have expert assistance to identify and correct vulnerabilities and regular monitoring for suspicious activities to keep data protected, without the worry of “extra” out-of-pocket expenditures when unplanned issues arise.
Additionally, Managed IT service providers ensure all system maintenance is conducted regularly to ensure updates and upgrades are installed as soon as new security patches are available.
This ensures your practice is always protected against emerging threats.
ECM for Healthcare
ECM securely captures, stores, and manages EHRs and other critical documents to prevent unauthorized access and keep data safe.
Robust workflow efficiencies save time and money, and a reduction of manual data entry reduces the potential for human error, as well as prevents potential data theft.
Managed Print for Healthcare
Managed print services (MPS) not only optimizes print infrastructure for cost efficiencies but ensures digital data being moved to printed form is securely protected from unauthorized access through several layers of access control.
All these services offer in-depth monitoring for suspicious activities, detailed access controls to limit access to sensitive data, and an emphasis on deploying cybersecurity best practices that focus on the latest preventative technologies to safeguard vital information.
Trust Blue Technologies to Safeguard Your Patients’ Information
Blue Technologies offers not just one, but an entire suite of managed services and content management protocols your small practice can leverage to increase your cybersecurity and more effectively protect patient data.
Our team of IT professionals has a deep understanding of current and emerging cyber threats, and we’ve worked closely with many healthcare entities to secure and manage their data for cost efficiencies and regulatory compliance.
Rather than spending money on expensive salaries for in-house IT or overloading a small IT department with mundane — but critical — security maintenance checks and upgrades, small practices can reap cost benefits by leveraging the power of managed services to protect data.
From initial assessment to deployment to ongoing maintenance and troubleshooting, Blue Technologies has all the tools, tech, and know-how to keep your practice compliant and your data safe. This peace of mind will help you and your staff focus on what’s important — providing exceptional patient care.
Keep your small practice’s EHR protected and managed for compliance, efficiency, and increased security. Contact a Blue Technologies consultant today to find out how our team of IT experts can take your business to the next level.
