Disclaimer: Virgin Pulse and HealthComp are now Personify Health
When it comes to data security, it’s no longer a question of if a cyber-attack will happen and how will you prepare, but a matter of when it will and what defense you have ready to prevent, detect and respond to threats.
As we’ve adapted to a virtual setting, maintaining health data privacy and the protection of medical and healthcare data is more critical for organizations than ever before. Because healthcare data is incredibly personal, there is both an ethical and legal obligation to keep consumer health information secure and safe.
There is a heightened awareness for protecting this data. However, this year, a shocking 40 million patients records have been compromised. And rubbing salt in the wound, the healthcare industry experienced the highest cost of a data breach for the 11th year in a row, increasing from $7.13M in 2020 to $9.23M in 2021.
We might not be able to predict when the next cyber-attack will occur, but we can all do our part to step up our security initiatives and practices.
Here are some tips from Personify Health’s security experts for maintaining data security in healthcare:
- Remember: security is not a one-person (or one-team) job. If you’re looking for your organization’s greatest defense, grab a mirror. Treat your workforce like a second “firewall” against potential hackers; educate and empower employees with the skills to identify, report and prevent threats to data.
- Make security user friendly. Security is both a feeling and a reality. We recommend clearly communicating security guidelines and expectations outside of traditional touchpoints (i.e., annual training, onboarding, annual third-party reviews) to report on potential security news and updates. By keeping in touch throughout the year, you open the door to discuss new discoveries or challenges in addition to new potential threats.
- Commit to the highest standards of information protection and assurance. HIPAA is the bare minimum requirement for compliance with the Security and Privacy Rules. Go beyond HIPAA compliance to include HITRUST Certification and feel confident in your security efforts. Seeking the very best will help you maintain professionalism and security positivity.
- And finally, find a vendor that you can trust. Personify Health protects and leverages a massive consumer database covering over 275 million lives to deliver personalized support that improves total wellbeing. With an extensive database, we have excelled at protecting consumer privacy over the last decade. We have proudly maintained HITRUST CSF Certification, SOC 2 compliance, and have been HIPAA certified since 2012. We’re also honored to be named a gold winner in the 17th Annual Cyber Security Global Excellence Awards® by The Globee®. This prestigious recognition continues our award-winning status in the security industry.
Personify Healths’ security can help you bring these tips to life.