At the same time, it’s also generating enormous amounts of new data. The challenge that many healthcare businesses and institutions now face is securely storing and sharing all of this data. While many healthcare businesses work hard to ensure that HIPAA policies are being met, many are not aware of whether their data and technology are secure. Fortunately, it’s easy to handle these tasks when you trust an IT outsourcing service like Tech Rockstars!
It wasn’t all that long ago that most patient information was simply stored in a filing cabinet, with paperwork tucked neatly into a folder. Today, patient information is overwhelmingly stored on a digital device, like a hard drive, or even cloud storage solution. While this makes them easier to access for doctors and nurses, it also leaves them vulnerable to hackers and other cyber criminals who might want access to this valuable data.
HIPAA was established to better protect the health information of medical patients, and to control when PHI can be shared and with whom. This includes routine checkup information, data collected on an illness or condition, scans, x-rays, images, and even personal contact information. Information and data like this are what many think of when they discuss HIPAA, but even seasoned members of the medical field forget about the HIPAA covers how information is shared. That includes text messages and emails within the office, between doctor and patient, and even messages sent between private and work devices.
There’s no denying the practicality of storing and sharing data and information through a computer network or through an email exchange. But with that practicality comes added opportunities for that data to be lost, inappropriately shared, or even stolen. Many smaller health clinics falsely assume that they are immune from HIPAA violations because of their minimal patient count, but that just isn’t true. The reality is that clinics and businesses of all sizes can be assigned a HIPAA violation by the Office for Civil Rights.
Should your healthcare office be hit with a HIPAA violation, you could face fines of up to $50,000 per violation, and even be assigned jail time. While this can affect the financial viability of your healthcare facility, it can also affect the reputation of it. HIPAA violators are released on the internet, letting potential patients know that some health clinics are more trustworthy than others.
No healthcare clinic can afford a HIPAA violation, but they can afford outstanding outsourced IT services. Based in Monrovia and serving clients in Pasadena, Glendale, Pomona, Riverside, Yorba Linda, Corona and the greater Inland Empire, IT specialists at Tech Rockstars can easily help your healthcare office achieve and maintain HIPAA compliance. A quick consultation with us can lead to an in-depth discussion as to how we can help you protect your patients’ data. Data backup and recovery ensures that private information is available to your staff right when they need it. Hosted exchanges and email services keep your data secure and encrypted. Spam filtering and other security measures ensure that cybercriminals can’t access your data.
Let the experts at Tech Rockstars manage your IT systems, networks, and protocols, and you’ll never have to worry about a HIPAA violation again. Call us today to get started!
