Health Care: How to Protect Patient Data

JEI Tech , a leading managed technology services provider, announced that the company is helping healthcare organizations protect patient data with the latest in cybersecure technology. Recent studies show startling statistics in the healthcare industry’s ability to safeguard patient records. According to a 2020 study by Black Book Market Research, experts found that 82% of hospital CIOs in inpatient facilities under 150 staffed beds and 90% of practice administrators collectively, state they are not even close to spending an adequate amount on protecting patient records from a data breach. Additionally, 90% of health systems and hospital employees who shifted to a work-at-home assignment due to the pandemic, did not receive any updated guidelines or training on the increasing risk of accessing sensitive patient data compromising systems.

Healthcare organizations are primary targets for identity theft because of the value of the data they store. This is no secret to healthcare providers and policies like HIPAA have been legislative attempts to encourage providers to better safeguard this information; however, healthcare organizations can only protect patient data to the level at which they understand the latest cybersecurity methods and to the level at which their technology functions. In other words, since healthcare providers are rightfully focused on increasing patient health and well-being, the strength of their IT network often takes a backseat in terms of priority. This dynamic leads to ignored IT networks, outdated technology, and a perfect target for cybercriminals. Due to an increase in the frequency of cyberattacks on healthcare providers. Providers are under more pressure than ever before to adequately safeguard sensitive information. However, the challenge is that they lack the extra time required to become IT experts themselves and they also lack the extra financial resources required to hire internal IT staff that can keep pace with the new innovations in cybercrime.

“The reason that healthcare providers choose us is because they want to keep their focus on serving patients and they want to know that their information and technology is completely protected,” stated John Coleman, Director of JEI Tech . “Physicians should not be focused on their IT infrastructure, nor should they have to operate with lingering fears of compliance or audits. It’s a waste of their talents, time and contribution to society. We’ve spent decades focusing on finding the right technology tools, cybersecurity enhancements and best practices to keep patients, providers and staff safe from cyberattack,” concluded Mr. Coleman.