Any best practices in a healthcare system setting begins with following the rules and guidelines of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Enacted in 1966, HIPAA introduced guidelines governing privacy and security of all protected health information (PHI) and protected health information created electronically. While some HIPAA rules have been enforced rigorously than others, the 2009 Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) has detailed significantly more rigid requirements. In addition to requiring much more significant use of health information technology, such as electronic medical records (EMR), HITECH encompasses provisions that reinforce the civil and criminal execution of …show more content…
Hospitals have put in place widespread security and privacy measures to protect patient health information. However, there are still errors being made in data security through the IT standpoint. Some of these errors or issues include: • The mindset that data security is only an IT issue - Some hospital management only engage in data security after they see the financial and public relations impact of a data breach made on another healthcare organization • Not protecting data integrity and when it is available - any healthcare institution should realize that it is necessary to protect healthcare data's confidentiality and that protecting the integrity and availability of the data is also important. • Poor data storage protection - need to understand where healthcare data exists when it is created, used, stored and communicated. When healthcare data flows inside and outside of a hospital to healthcare professionals, pharmacists and specialists it is easy to overlook where the data might end …show more content…
Automation and interconnections with information in their healthcare environments need increasing support, security measures need to be implemented without disrupting the workflow of approved users, costs associated with data breaches and damage to their reputation need to be avoided. IT budgets constraints also impose limitations in many healthcare institutions. Compliance with security and privacy related regulations in healthcare and making sure what policies and standards should be implemented requires solutions that clearly address security challenges so that they can be integrated into a healthcare institution’s existing infrastructure and business practice. As data is transmitted across countless environments and is stored on an ever-expanding grouping of endpoint and storage devices such as computers, laptops, and removable storage devices, it will become evident that there will be a need for strong encryption. Under the HITECH Act and comparable state laws, encrypted data that is received or acquired by unauthorized persons through a lost or stolen electronic device or an errant email, is typically not considered a breach. However, healthcare institutions need to determine the level of encryption they should adopt. For example, a hospital could decide where there is the greatest risk of information loss (patient data in email messages or on storage drive) that is not on internal
With growing scrutiny in healthcare and a record number of breaches increasing at an alarming rate, healthcare organizations are taking preventive measures in order to avoid breaches and possible fines. However, healthcare organizations are confused on what measures they need to take in order to protect healthcare information
As more healthcare information is stored and transmitted digitally, ensuring that your organization complies with the myriad of federal and state regulations is becoming increasingly difficult. As part of this digital transformation, healthcare organizations are partnering with cloud companies, data processors, and other organizations that must also comply with HIPAA business associate requirements. This has resulted in an increase in the scope of security challenges for healthcare providers and their business associates.
The electronic protected health information (ePHI) gets electronically stored and collected in hard copy form as they secure the information. According to the U.S. Department of health and Human Service Office for Civil Rights (OCR) report, millions of people have been impacted by HIPAA data breaches. Hence, healthcare organizations must protect and secure personal health data now more than ever because of the threats that are associated with information. This would substantially increase the protection of healthcare from cyber threats. Moreover, these people are extremely diverse and the cleverness of their data information must be organized within hospitals. Medical records are in high demand because of the sophistication of the records.
Securing larger volumes of data than before, health care providers must be able to adapt to new methods of data storage and access of patient records. Security breaches in health care organizations is lost or stolen from unencrypted devices and media where the provider is using to retrieve records. As more health providers continue to use mobile devices to access pertinent information from electronic medical records systems the chances for breach increases so dramatically. (Rogers,
Abstract: Electronic medical databases and the ability to store medical files in them have made our lives easier in many ways and riskier in others. The main risk they pose is the safety of our personal data if put on an insecure an insecure medium. What if someone gets their hands on your information and uses it in ways you don't approve of? Can you stop them? To keep your information safe and to preserve faith in this invaluable technology, the issue of access must be addressed. Guidelines are needed to establish who has access and how they may get it. This is necessary for the security of the information a, to preserve privacy, and to maintain existing benefits.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) has set out the creation and maintenance of electronic health records (EHR) as the means by which patient care can be improved while the overall costs of healthcare to society can be driven down. However, the ability to consolidate patient records and increase their portability has increased their vulnerability to theft and exposure. Along with the requirement to create EHRs, HIPAA has mandated security requirements for a class of information identified as electronic protected health information (ePHI) in an effort to protect the confidentiality of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) from criminal misuse and general exposure. The iTrust Medical Care Requirements System (iTrust)
Working in the medical field with Electronic Health Records, a lot of my responsibilities are reliant on Health Insurance Portability and Accountability (HIPPA) compliance, EHR updates and template building. EHR breaches in security is a constant concern in this age of modern and sophisticated technology. With recent security breaches of major corporations, this has caused technology experts to heighten its security encryptions to prevent further breaches. The increasing concern over the security of health information stems from the rise of EHRs, increased use of mobile devices such as the smartphone, medical identity theft, and the widely anticipated exchange of data between and among organizations, clinicians, federal agencies, and patients. If patients’ trust is undermined, they may not be forthright with the physician. For the patient to trust the clinician, records in the office must be protected. Having the knowledge of how these security breaches are on the rise increases my awareness on the security protection of the health records.
In addition to requiring meaningful use of health information technology, such as electronic medical records (EMR), HITECH contains provisions that strengthen
It is important for the both the patient and health care provider to understand what information is being protected, as to avoid any security breach. This protected information included any information in various medical records, patient conversations with all health care professionals about care and treatment, billing data, and a majority of other information regarding patient health. Any patient has the right to see and receive a copy of any health records, request correction be made to a variety of health-related information, control over who the medical records are shared with,
The process of change highlights issues of data security and access, the lack of which would clearly be defined as an error, and could have significant implications for patient safety. (Boaden & Joyce 2006)
Pharmaceutical companies, insurance agencies, research hospitals, and countless medical practices must take safeguards to secure health information. It’s vital to surviving in our competitive marketplace.
Along with this is a variety of methods to store information. For these reasons, there needs to be multiple security policies and methods that needs to be implemented to ensure that compliance is being met now and for future use. With all of these variables, health care organizations need to make sure they are meeting criteria when it comes to moving this information through these HIE networks including: security management, interoperability, internal and external access control, going hand in hand with access control, patient information and transaction integrity, and central storage (SafeNet, 2015, pg.3).
You are right, concerns about breach of electronic medical information exist in the minds of the medical community and patients. In addition, security breaches are costly also, medical facilities’ reputation and integrity can be affected by security breach (Sewell, 2016). Medical facilities should update their policies and procedures. Furthermore, they should provide proper training about privacy and security to all employees since significant portion of the security breaches are due to user error.
In order to understand the problem domain it is necessary to understand the core concepts of computer security. Stewart et al (2008), discusses the primary goals of security as contained within the CIA Triad, which is the name given to the three primary security principles: Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability. The most important of these from the perspective of health data in medical practice is confidentiality. Confidentiality of information is paramount when dealing with medical information. This project will attempt to understand the state of confidentiality, availability and integrity in the surveyed hospitals.
In as much as we understand the problem domain it is necessary to understand the core concepts of computer security. Stewart et al (2008), discusses the main objectives of security as seen through the CIA Triad: Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability. The most important of these from the perspective of health data in medical practice is confidentiality. Confidentiality of information is paramount when dealing with medical information. This project will attempt to understand the state of confidentiality, availability and integrity in the surveyed hospitals.