{"id":1942,"date":"2013-03-05T05:26:14","date_gmt":"2013-03-05T05:26:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcodersblog.com\/?p=1942"},"modified":"2014-08-11T12:41:40","modified_gmt":"2014-08-11T12:41:40","slug":"how-healthcare-data-breaches-warrant-the-intervention-of-billing-specialists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.medicalbillersandcoders.com\/blog\/how-healthcare-data-breaches-warrant-the-intervention-of-billing-specialists\/","title":{"rendered":"How Healthcare Data Breaches Warrant the Intervention of Billing Specialists"},"content":{"rendered":"

Technology has really done wonders to the way doctors or hospitals document and exchange healthcare data across the clinical eco-system \u2013 with the digital mode, it is now finitely possible to record unimaginable volumes of data in miniature chips, and share them\u00a0 instantly for collaborative clinical management, research, medical billing<\/a>, and macro healthcare policy decisions. The negative side of this technology utility is that there has been alarming increase in healthcare data breaches that have threatened to jeopardize patients\u2019 privacy and security as well as credibility of doctors\/hospitals.<\/p>\n

While most of the present-day Electronic Health Record Systems<\/a> (EHRs) are amply protected against security threats, yet they are susceptible to unscrupulous manipulations. More over there are always possibilities like lost or stolen hard drives, laptop, PDA or thumb drive, human error, and network hacking.\u00a0 With technology becoming more mobile than ever, chances of losing your healthcare data or being stolen while in transit may be too high.\u00a0 Therefore, it comes as no surprise that 85% of healthcare providers have experienced a data breach of some kind or other in the recent past. While the new electronic medical record legislation seeks to put the onus on manufacturers or vendors, providers too will have significant role in preventing most of the data breaches that emanate on account of operator\u2019s incompetence. In fact, the analysts have it that 86% of data breaches are not IT related and could be prevented through better policies and training.\u00a0 Thus, may be increasingly necessary to have a multi-pronged strategy to avert data breaches:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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  • Prevention through sourcing industry-leading tools to stop identity theft and maintain legal compliance<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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  • Education that seeks to impart best practices in protecting personal and highly sensitive clinical data<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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  • Have a measured response to incidence of breaches and conduct scrutiny to seal off loopholes, and have a policy to monitor, avert and improve with evolving data security standards.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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  • Employing appropriate security and backup solutions to archive important files, and test frequently<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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  • Devising two-factor authentication, such as strong user name and password, plus a token or one-time password<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
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