
Data breaches in the healthcare industry have become a pressing concern recently. The sensitive nature of healthcare data makes it a prime target for cybercriminals seeking to exploit valuable information. In addition, these healthcare breaches compromise patient privacy and lead to financial and reputational damage to healthcare organizations. Consult with Managed Security Services specialists to prevent data breaches in your healthcare industry.
According to the Statista report, In 2022, there were more than 340 incidents of data compromises in the healthcare sector in the United States. This indicates a significant growth of data compromises in the country.
This article will give you some simple ways on how to prevent data breach in healthcare industry.
Top 7 Ways to Prevent Data Breaches in Healthcare Industry
1. Assess Healthcare Security Measures
Before you can strengthen your healthcare security measures and policies, assessing their current state is essential. Then, conduct an internal audit to identify potential vulnerabilities and determine the best ways to address them. Vulnerability detection should be prioritized to ensure you can accurately identify and mitigate any potential risks. By auditing your security measures and policies, you can ensure your healthcare organization is well-equipped to protect patient data and other sensitive information.
2. Seek Professional Legal and Security Counsel
Next, it’s essential to seek professional legal and security assistance. Your legal team can review your notification plan and draft communications and documentation for the breach. They can also help prepare you for potential liability lawsuits and advise handling the best people affected by the data leak, such as offering credit card monitoring for all victims for some time after the breach. The security team can thoroughly investigate any identified security flaws and help you restore all systems to a secure state. With the help of legal and security professionals, you can ensure that you are equipped with the necessary resources to respond to the data breach in the best manner possible.
3. Limit the Use of Personal Devices
Healthcare professionals often rely on personal devices for quick remote access, which increases the risk of malware entering the system and making it vulnerable to attacks. To protect your organization, it is essential to create a strict and precise policy outlining which devices can be used within and outside the network, how to connect them, and other related security protocols correctly. By doing so, you can ensure that your employees are using secure devices that comply with your security standards.
4. Take Contractors and Business Associates on Board
Healthcare providers must collaborate with many other providers to deliver successful treatments and cures. To ensure the safety and security of sensitive patient information, all immediate contractors, business associates, doctors, and other stakeholders must be held accountable through relevant written business associate agreements. To remain compliant with all applicable regulations, all parties must sign these agreements for them to be valid and effective. This will help to protect the privacy and security of patient data, and ensure that all stakeholders are held to the highest standards of ethical conduct.
5. Update Your Software Regularly
Hackers are constantly on the lookout for new ways to compromise your data. Regular software updates are essential to identify and eliminate system vulnerabilities and reduce the risk of cyberattacks in your organization. As a healthcare software development expert, you must keep your medical solutions up-to-date and secure against emerging cybersecurity threats. Investing in regular software updates will ensure the safety and security of your data.
6. Build Your Incident Response Team
As a data breach is critical, it’s essential to act quickly and effectively. Build your incident response team and ensure everyone knows their roles and responsibilities. If you still need to review your incident response plan and rehearse your crisis practices, now is the time. Working together as a team is essential to manage the data breach and avoid further damage successfully.
Having the right team in place is essential when it comes to managing a crisis. Your incident response team should have a team leader, communications leader, office administrator, human resources, public relation manager, and breach response experts. Each of these roles provides a unique set of skills and responsibilities that are essential for an effective response. In small companies, some people may need to take on multiple roles. It is therefore important to have the right personnel in place to ensure the company can respond quickly, efficiently, and effectively.
7. Manage Resulting Consequences
Healthcare security breaches can have long-lasting and potentially devastating consequences, both financially and professionally. Not only are HIPAA violations subject to costly fines from the OCR, but criminal penalties may also be imposed depending on the severity of the breach. In addition, regaining patient trust and restoring your professional reputation can be a difficult, time-consuming process. Therefore, it is essential to safeguard your patients and business by making sure your practice is protected from any data breaches. Investing in the right security protocols and staying up to date with the latest industry standards can help keep your practice secure and your patients’ data protected.
Prevent data breaches with Cyber74
With rapid digitalization, healthcare has been increasingly exposed to cyberattacks, highlighting the importance of data security for healthcare providers. To protect against a healthcare data breach, it is essential to have a secure and reliable management software solution that is tailored to your needs and compliant with all applicable privacy regulations. This solution can help protect you from malicious attacks and ensure that sensitive data is properly managed and safeguarded.
If you’re looking for a trusted partner to join you in protecting your organization from data breaches, Cyber74 is here to help. With our experts at Cybersecurity Services for Healthcare, we focus on data security and create digital ecosystems that will bring your project to a new level. Contact us today.