A Thorough Risk Analysis includes:
• Data collection on document workflow
• Identification of potential risks and threats
• Assessment of current security measures
• Determination of the likelihood of security threats
• Determination of the level of risk
• Final documentation of risk assessment
But beyond that, below are three items to consider when constructing a secure and compliant healthcare environment that fully protects your – and your patients’ – crucial information.
1. Review Business Associate Agreements
A Risk Analysis will certainly shed light on where your facility is at in keeping information secure, current risk of breach, and the direction you must seek moving forward.
However, Balakrishnaraja says that while many organizations consider their own risks, they fail to consider the same for suppliers and other partners. For instance, are your Business Associate Agreements ensuring that they are keeping compliant with HIIPA? Organizations should consider reviewing such agreements every year.
In the end, you are the party responsible for keeping patient secure, or pay the financial consequences.
2. Visualize Non-Technical Scenarios
While many organizations accurately track technical vulnerabilities, policies and procedures must be put into place that addresses both physical safeguards and administrative safeguards. In other words, Patient Health Information could be breached under non-technical circumstances; something as simple as an employee printing information and leaving it at a printer, or someone going into a patient record and seeing information.
It all comes down to communication – from boardroom stakeholders to end users –when addressing these non-technical safeguards.
3. Continue Internal Training
Facilities must reinforce their policies and procedures internally to ensure successful implementation of any model. If everyone is not speaking the same language, it’s difficult to follow a common process.
With a legitimate framework in place, and the proper education continually enforced, employees can universally identify both risk levels and types and, more importantly… understand exactly what these findings mean.
The heavy responsibilities of keeping patient information secure, paired with the onslaught of data breaches, requires a long-term cybersecurity strategy that involves everyone within your organization. We’d love the opportunity to help you begin to understand the full breadth of risks in and around your facility, and then begin to assess, analyze and mitigate threats with robust management tools and models.
Are you ready to navigate confidently toward long-term security and compliance?
