Protecting Patient Records: Electronic Medical Records and the Prevention of Hacking

With electronic medical record prominence, 1 in 4 data breaches will occur in the healthcare industry this year. Protection of patient records is vital.

healthcare computers

Medical records contain vital information. Not only are HIPPA laws there to protect the privacy of patients, but it is also to prevent identity thieves from gathering too much information about an individual in order to steal their identity. Facilities that rely on the use of electronic medical records must use software that protects these records from others in an attempt to comply with HIPPA laws and keep the identity of their patients secure.

Software Defining Networking Boosts Medical Record Security

With the use of software defining networking comes new layers of protection for your business. The software is relatively new, and it’s going to take hackers some time to catch up. There’s little history when it comes to SDN system attacks, but it’s possible to look at the architecture of the network to determine where the hackers may try to strike. With careful scrutiny of any weaknesses in the system to exploit, those weaknesses can be hardened ahead of time to protect the vital records from intrusion.

HIPPA Regulations to Protect Patient Records

HIPAA, of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, was designed to protect medical records. This law has made it necessary for people to sign releases before medical information will be released, and was created in part to stop the private health information of individuals from getting into the wrong hands. As electronic medical records became standard over the last five to ten years, providing security for your business when it contains sensitive information has never been more important. A security breach does more than give information to hackers, it also fails to follow HIPPA regulations. With so many companies focused on compliance with establishing electronic records, security of these records was only a secondary thought.

Why Hackers Love Medical Records

Medical records are the most detailed records you can find on any one person. According to Computer world, one in four data breaches this year will be in the healthcare industry. It’s valuable information, as when a financial institution is hacked, this is found out rather quickly. When a healthcare institution has the security breached, it can take months or even years to figure out that the system has been hacked. With the abundance of information available on healthcare networks, it is essential for companies in the healthcare field to focus on network security to protect their patients.

As electronic medical record security gets more complex, so will the hackers determined to beat the system. Hacking into healthcare databases isn’t for short term gain. Individuals focused on a healthcare facility are looking for ways to manipulate the data stolen and use it to their advantage for years to come. As security gets more complex, so will the skills of the hackers involved. This means that a continual focus on security is necessary in order to keep medical records safe.

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