A recent study by the Poneman Institute showed that 91% of healthcare organizations experienced at least one data breach. The industry as a whole has experienced 125% more criminal attacks on their data than in years passed. Of the organizations who were affected, breaches cost roughly $2 million per company. Attacks on the healthcare industry are clearly on the rise, but there are some precautions you can take to safeguard your data:
• Outsource your company’s IT needs to an expert who has experience in the healthcare industry.
• Look for a company educated in HIPAA, with a team that’s dedicated to security and compliance.
• Ask for references so you can hear from fellow healthcare professionals about their experience with the company.
• Don’t sacrifice quality to save money when purchasing hardware. It will benefit you (and your bottom line) to have strong technology in the long run.
• Perform timely hardware and software updates, maintenance and backups.
• Establish, review and maintain system security of all practice technology.
Any company that has not recently re-assessed its backup and disaster recovery procedures should therefore do so in order to conform to these industry-standard best practices.
For information on how Capital Business Systems can help you implement a managed network service to suit your business and your budget, please contact us.