As new technological developments continuously change how healthcare organizations communicate and share patient health information, the need for securing the endpoints that receive health-critical data increases exponentially.
This issue is not only multifaceted for healthcare organizations, but also for insurance companies and pharmacies that need to securely send and receive unstructured data such as patient records, scripts, discharge summaries, medical forms, authorizations, prescriptions, and insurance claims.
Technologies such as employee-owned IoT devices and external off-network endpoints are not as easy to secure as a desktop computer that is owned by a hospital and monitored by an internal IT department. Communicating with these devices does not guarantee complete security or regulation compliance, and thus can pose a critical threat to data integrity.
Practicing efficient and effective endpoint security management will not only protect sensitive data from intruders, but it will also save organizations from the negative aftereffects of financial and reputational loss. Though this idea may be simple, reports say this is a more common problem than it seems.
According to a report released by the Ponemon Institute, 63 percent of companies surveyed stated that they could not monitor off-network endpoints, and that of these same endpoints, 55 percent of them contained sensitive data. Clearly, this illustrates a strategic disconnect when it comes to endpoint security. Ponemon also reported that such inefficiencies can cost individual organizations an average of $6 million annually. These ineffective security strategies are not only exposing private information, but they are also costly to correct.
However, this problem extends beyond security and finances. Unprotected endpoints can also raise compliance concerns. The Ponemon report stated that 56 percent of companies lack a cohesive compliance strategy and that 70 percent of companies have a below average ability to minimize endpoint damages. Not only are organizations wasting money, but they could also be in potential violation of industry regulations.
To effectively secure endpoint inefficiencies, it is vital to utilize a secure exchange network for optimal security, automatic compliance, and maximum efficiency.
Security Optimized
Ideally, a secure network should leverage military-grade encryption and hybrid cloud technology to guarantee 100 percent secure communications as well as proper documentation of all information transmitted between remote client sites. Blacklists and Whitelists can also be implemented to place restrictions on the flow of patient health information and boost data security.
Automatic Compliance
Secure communications must be designed from the ground up with multi-regulation compliance capabilities in mind. To ensure that your healthcare organization is communicating with integrity, all document transmissions should be both Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliant.
Efficiency Maximized
By extending existing fax machines to the cloud, healthcare organizations can cut down on document transmission wait times and eliminate security concerns. For example, a 50-page document that may have once taken 30 minutes to send can now be securely transmitted in mere seconds through a hybrid cloud portal. The best part? You don’t have to throw your existing fax infrastructure out the window. An analog telephony adapter such as the etherFAX A2E device can extend fax machines to cloud, allowing them to operate as if they were on a traditional Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).
Infrastructure Simplified
Instead of spending an endless amount of time, money, and effort to correct endpoint inefficiencies –choose a platform from the start that will guarantee security and compliance. A secure exchange network leveraging hybrid cloud technology can simplify your infrastructure and protect business-critical data from endpoint to endpoint.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
As CEO of etherFAX, Paul Banco is responsible for the strategic direction of the company and leads technology development, including the patented etherFAX and etherFAX SEN intellectual property. As a visionary, he identified the need to leverage the cloud for secure document delivery and co-founded etherFAX in 2009 with other telecom industry veterans.
The views, opinions and positions expressed within these guest posts are those of the author alone and do not represent those of Becker's Hospital Review/Becker's Healthcare. The accuracy, completeness and validity of any statements made within this article are not guaranteed. We accept no liability for any errors, omissions or representations. The copyright of this content belongs to the author and any liability with regards to infringement of intellectual property rights remains with them.