[BreachExchange] Four Ways Technology Has Made It Easier to Uphold HIPAA

[Audrey McNeil]

https://www.techworm.net/2018/03/four-ways-technology-has-
made-it-easier-to-uphold-hipaa.html

Upholding the Health Insurance Portability and Accessibility Act (HIPAA) is
an absolute must for any healthcare professional. This federal law protects
and governs health-related procedures and transactions to protect the
privacy and health information of patients. Today, being HIPAA compliant is
essential for any healthcare professional or practice. In recent times,
technology has become increasingly more important when it comes to making
sure that HIPAA guidelines are upheld. Here are some of the main ways in
which healthcare professionals today are using technology to ensure that
their work is as HIPAA compliant as possible.

#1. Secure Texting Solutions:

Hospitals are often large and busy places, so it can be difficult for
doctors and other healthcare professionals to communicate confidentially
about their patients in private. Often, healthcare professionals working
together in a hospital will not physically cross paths for a large part of
the day, so it’s vital that they have a quick and convenient method of
sharing crucial patient information with one another. Hospital secure
texting solutions are a great choice; they allow healthcare professionals
to share patient information with each other quickly and over a secure
server.

#2. Cloud Storage:

Gone are the days when all patient records were filed away in cabinets;
today’s medical records are usually stored online. Thanks to the cloud,
there’s never been a more secure way of storing patient data. Records
stored in the cloud are no longer at risk of being damaged by natural
disasters, fire, or theft since they’re not physical and can be accessed
from any device with an internet connection.

Since anything stored in the cloud can be heavily protected with password
security, it’s far more difficult for patient records to get into the wrong
hands.

#3. Password Managers:

All too often, security breaches are caused by simple mistakes such as
having too weak a password or using the same password for multiple
accounts. Using the same password for everything puts healthcare
professionals at a higher risk of unintentionally breaching HIPAA if the
information they have on their patients falls into the wrong hands. A
password manager tool or app is the perfect solution; it will generate
strong passwords for the user and fills in login credentials for them on a
private computer.

#4. HIPAA Training:

Lastly, technology has provided healthcare facilities with several great
options when it comes to HIPAA training for new and existing healthcare
staff. For example, smartphone apps that employees can use to test their
knowledge of HIPAA are a great idea, whilst the internet has made it easier
than ever before for both employers and employees to search this act and
learn about it in more depth. You can use technology to create HIPAA
training videos, online tests, and even get feedback about the training
from your employees using polls and surveys.

Staying HIPAA compliant is a top priority for any good healthcare
professional today. Are you a health professional who uses technology on a
daily basis? How do you use technology for HIPAA? We’d love to hear from
you in the comments.
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