With the rise of digital systems in healthcare comes the risk of them being accessible to hackers. Healthcare can be especially susceptible because of the amount of data they require, which includes sensitive patient information, medical history, and payment methods. Medical clinics should be prepared to protect their patient’s records by investing in software and training for these reasons:

Software

Encrypted, secure software is a necessary investment for a medical clinic. It will also need to be regularly monitored for any updates—if a breach does happen to the company that supports your software, then they will most likely release an update to close up those holes. When using computers, ensure that they’re properly protected by security programs and equipped with a Virtual Private Network (VPN). These will be added costs, but they’re essential when protecting your practice’s and patient’s data.

Additionally, the clinic should be equipped with a wireless router that’s encrypted. It cybersecurity and healthcare usewill need to use WPA2-AES, which the majority of routers are configured to as a factory setting, but staff should confirm its properly set up.

Training

A well-trained staff can often be the first defense between important information staying safe and secure. Whether your medical office focuses on remote, hybrid, or in-person staff, there should be security procedures in place. For example, 2-factor authentication should be enabled for relevant logins and software to help avoid breaches. Staff should be trained on where they should be going for that verification and what a suspicious login may look like.

A cybersecurity class should be held on the dos and don’ts of handling patient information and also how they should be conducting their communication work. Scammers and hackers are still using links to get access to devices, and their methods are becoming more clever. Before clicking on any link in an email, staff needs to be proactive and be sure they know the sender. However, links aren’t the only way that cyber criminals are gaining access to sensitive data. New ways to steal data are emerging every day, and they are focusing on healthcare, so it’s important to stay up to date on new trends.

Luckily, the experts at Outsource Receivables Inc. are well versed in how to keep our client’s data secure and the steps that clinics should take to do the same. Give us a call if you’re worried about the security of your data.

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