Data privacy and security are critical as healthcare providers collect demographic, financial, and clinical information from patients. However, healthcare data security is a moving target with new threats emerging daily.
Last year, an astonishing 133 million records were exposed, stolen, or otherwise impermissibly disclosed. Nearly 80% of these data breaches were due to hacking incidents, and organizations are especially vulnerable when sharing or moving information between people or systems. Adhering to data security standards is important; however, organizations must take additional proactive steps to ensure data migration doesn’t leave them susceptible to breaches, regulatory fines, and exposure of sensitive information.
While it may be tempting to think of data migration as a technology-centric project, in reality, it’s more about business-critical risk mitigation on the journey toward modernizing clinical care. In other words, it’s about ensuring the right information flows successfully and securely from one system to another to improve care delivery and outcomes.
8 Data Security Standards for Protecting Patient Privacy
The following eight best practices can promote healthcare data security during a data migration project that requires archiving:
1. Perform a risk assessment before, during, and after data migration
Risk assessments help healthcare organizations identify and assess gaps that could compromise healthcare cybersecurity. Performing a risk assessment before data migration sets the stage for strong data privacy and security during the remainder of the project. However, issues can emerge at any time, which is why it’s important to perform an assessment during and after the project, as well.
Risk assessments should focus on technical, physical, and administrative safeguards to uncover vulnerabilities in systems, processes, and personnel. When performed correctly and frequently, the assessments help organizations prioritize security investments and develop remediation plans. Risk assessments should be comprehensive and include portable devices such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops that access and share patient information. Other connected devices include smart medical equipment and wearable monitoring devices. These technologies often have limited healthcare data security features and can be particularly vulnerable to hacking or malware during data migration.
2. Ensure strong encryption and data transfer protocols
Data encryption — a recommended healthcare cybersecurity measure under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) — converts plain text or data into a coded form that’s inaccessible to anyone without a decryption key. Without this key, unauthorized users can’t modify the data either, making it more difficult for hackers to exploit sensitive information.
Organizations can leverage encryption not only when data is stored ”at rest” in the electronic health record, a portable device, or other health information technology system, but also when it’s transmitted (e.g., during a data migration project or when sending data to a payer or external agency). Through data encryption, organizations demonstrate their commitment to data privacy and security, including during data migration projects.
While migrating data, it’s important to choose the correct encryption method (e.g., symmetric encryption, asymmetric encryption, and hashing algorithms) based on the type of information, the level of protection required, and the organization’s existing infrastructure. Ensuring appropriate key management is equally important, as is training staff members on encryption protocols and procedures.
3. Implement strict access controls and user authentication
Healthcare organizations must be cautious in granting access to data and applications as they migrate their data. Only individuals who need this access to perform their job duties should receive it.
In addition, organizations can assign permissions based on an employee’s position and responsibilities. Role-based access along with multi-factor authentication (i.e., requiring users to provide two or more verification factors to gain access) helps reduce data breaches and limit access to sensitive data before, during, and after data migration.
4. Use compliance monitoring logs
Compliance monitoring logs help organizations understand who accesses what information, when, and from where. Armed with this information, organizations can detect anomalies and unusual activity (e.g., large data transfers or access from unexpected locations) more easily, allowing leaders to quickly respond to potential security incidents and promote healthcare data security during the data migration process.
5. Create a backup recovery plan
Despite an organization’s best efforts, errors, omissions, and other challenges may occur during data migration projects. Creating a backup recovery plan ensures business continuity. This plan should address when and how organizations will access and maintain secure, offsite backups of sensitive data. The plan should also outline regular testing of backup and restore procedures.
6. Provide employee security training
When it comes to data privacy and security, employees are often an organization’s greatest asset as well as their biggest risk. While employees can take proactive steps to promote healthcare cybersecurity, they can also make mistakes that cause data breaches. Healthcare data security training helps everyone understand threats and vulnerabilities so they know what missteps to avoid.
Training should address how to identify and report potential healthcare data security threats, and how to maintain patient privacy and ensure compliance with HIPAA regulations. Training is not a “one and done” event. Rather, it’s an ongoing process that keeps employees up to date on the latest security protocols, data security standards, and vulnerabilities. Ongoing training also promotes a culture of security awareness and demonstrates the organization’s commitment to healthcare cybersecurity.
7. Perform vendor due diligence
Working with contract specialists presents unique opportunities to protect sensitive patient data. These third-party entities must be able to articulate their ability to comply with security and privacy standards, and healthcare organizations should carefully review each entity’s policies, procedures, and technical safeguards before formal engagement. This includes any vendors involved in the data migration project itself.
8. Protect mobile electronics
Implementing device encryption, remote wiping capabilities, and mobile device management solutions (i.e., solutions that enforce security policies, monitor device usage, and remotely lock or erase lost or stolen devices) can help reduce vulnerabilities during a data migration project.
Segmenting networks to isolate connected devices from other systems can also help promote healthcare data security. For example, if a healthcare device becomes infected with malware, the threat is contained within its segment, preventing lateral movement across other connected technologies.
Uphold Best-in-Class Data Privacy and Security Protocols
As healthcare organizations embark on important data migration projects, they need an archive vendor that holds itself accountable to the highest data privacy and security standards in the industry. Olah recently completed its SOC 2 Type 2 audit, ensuring it employs best-in-class strategies to protect customer and patient data. Contact us to learn more about Olah’s safe, secure, and fast archiving solution.
