Advancements in healthcare technology have come leaps and bounds in the last decade. Wearable devices are helping people take control of their health by tracking their heart rate, exercise, sleep, and respiration. Doctors and nurses can build specialised knowledge and skills with online FNP programs and anatomy apps.
However, in an age where digital technology permeates every aspect of our lives, healthcare systems must prioritize safeguarding patient security to maintain trust and integrity. With sensitive medical data at stake, stringent measures are imperative to mitigate risks and uphold confidentiality. Here are five crucial strategies for healthcare providers to fortify patient security:
1. Staff Training:
Staff training plays an essential role in order to build a robust culture of security awareness within healthcare organizations. In such cases, healthcare institutions can achieve this by providing cybersecurity training sessions for their employees. It is highly recommended that these training sessions should go beyond mere compliance with regulations and instill a deep understanding of the critical role each staff member plays in safeguarding patient data.
Besides, in the long run, providing such a comprehensive training program to cover various aspects of cybersecurity, including recognizing common social engineering tactics like phishing emails to understanding the importance of strong password hygiene, will help to educate the staff on the potential consequences of security breaches, both for patients and the organization. From there, it can help foster a sense of responsibility and accountability within the organization.
The most important benefit of setting up training sessions for employees is that it provides an opportunity to tailor security awareness to specific roles within the organization. In fact, different roles equal different touchpoints and pose different dangers of data breaches systematically. For instance, clinical staff, administrative personnel, and IT professionals may have different responsibilities regarding patient data, and targeted training ensures that each employee understands their unique role in maintaining security.
Beyond initial onboarding, regular refresher courses and updates are also essential to keep staff abreast of evolving security threats and best practices. Engaging and interactive training formats, such as simulated phishing exercises or tabletop security drills, can help reinforce learning and encourage active participation.
2. Restricted Access to Data and Applications:
Strictly manage who can access patient data, as this step is key to protecting valuable information from unauthorized intruders and helping healthcare organizations protect their systems. The management of access control can be achieved by implementing robust access controls. This begins with a granular approach to user permissions by assigning access rights based on roles and responsibilities. This action ensures that only authorized personnel can view, modify, or delete patient records. Consequently, it minimizes the risk of insider threats and accidental data breaches.
Healthcare institutions can also apply multi-factor authentication (MFA) to add an additional layer of defense to protect their system. Simply put, MAF requires users to provide multiple forms of identification before accessing sensitive information. Whether through biometric factors like fingerprint or facial recognition or possession factors like a one-time code sent to a mobile device, MFA adds an extra barrier against unauthorized access attempts, even in the event of compromised credentials.
On a more advanced level, the integration of things such as encryption, audit trails, and logging mechanisms is the method that many organizations, no matter what industry they are in, are currently using. This method of preventing data leaks data in transit and at rest by turning sensitive information into an unreadable format that can only be interpreted with the right decryption key. In case there is illegal access that is trying to steal this information, the host organization will be able to receive insights on who is trying to access their system, block their actions, and even be able to identify the hackers.
After all, conducting regular audits and access reviews is a must for the healthcare organization to ensure that workers' access credentials stay consistent with their present jobs and responsibilities. As personnel changes occur within the business, revoke access for departing workers and update permissions for new recruits to reduce the risk of illegal access.
3. Mitigate Connected Device Risks:
Due to the Internet of Things (IoT) and its interconnected network between devices, there have been growing cyberattacks happening in the digital space, making this one of the weak points for hackers to get access to the IT systems of the host organizations. In fact, these devices frequently lack sufficient built-in security features, resulting in the need for healthcare organizations to implement a security standard for users, mainly for their staff or guests that access their network, such as their Wi-Fi. Here are some tips to prevent unauthorized users that healthcare businesses can consider:
- Regular firmware updates: patch known vulnerabilities and improve the security posture of IoMT devices. Healthcare institutions may reduce the risk of cyber-attacks targeting old firmware by remaining up to speed on manufacturer security warnings and deploying upgrades as soon as possible.
- Network segmentation: IoMT devices may be isolated from the larger hospital network, reducing the possible consequences of a security compromise. Organizations may prevent the spread of malware and unwanted access attempts by establishing specialized network segments for medical equipment and employing tight access control measures.
- Continuous monitoring of IoMT devices: can identify and respond to security problems in real-time. Anomalies in device behaviour, such as unexpected network traffic or illegal configuration changes, may signal a security compromise that requires prompt investigation and remedy.
- Encryption of data transmitted between IoMT devices and backend systems: can protect critical patient data from interception by unauthorized parties. The Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocols guarantee secure communication channels, reducing the danger of data breaches during transmission.
- Collaborating with device manufacturers and regulatory bodies: Can assure the security and compliance of IoMT devices. Healthcare organizations may help to build safer and more secure medical devices by lobbying for the introduction of comprehensive security measures while following industry standards and laws.
4. Working with Trusted Service Providers:
Entrusting third-party entities with access to patient data and sensitive systems has inherent risks, therefore, healthcare providers must work with trustworthy partners that are dedicated to maintaining high-security standards.
Partnering with trusted service providers provides various advantages, the most important of which is access to professional cybersecurity experience and resources. Established third-party security solution providers are capable of building comprehensive security frameworks and ensuring compliance with industry rules, giving healthcare businesses peace of mind that their data is in good hands.
There are multiple ways to make sure that the collaboration between healthcare institutions and their service provider partners is reliable. First, two parties can develop rigorous vetting and due diligence processes. When it comes to selecting service providers, healthcare organizations can check if the chosen partners meet their organization's security and compliance criteria. They can check the security certifications as well as their track record of protecting sensitive data to see if these adhere to industry best practices. Second, healthcare organizations should establish clear contractual agreements and service-level agreements (SLAs) to define the security duties and obligations of the company and the security service provider. Contracts should include data protection obligations, incident response processes, and systems for auditing and monitoring service providers' compliance with security standards. By doing so, they can reduce the risk of working with untrustworthy partners.
As you can see, ensuring patient security is a continual effort that requires awareness, commitment, and collaboration at all levels of the healthcare ecosystem. Healthcare systems can maintain patient confidentiality and trust in an increasingly digital healthcare landscape by prioritizing staff training, limiting data access, mitigating connected device risks, collaborating with trusted service providers, and updating IT infrastructure.
