Managing Cyber Security Risk In HIPAA
Abstract
Benefits
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), enacted in 1996 by congress is designed to protect sensitive health information stored in electronic form. HIPAA brought important benefits for the healthcare system by transforming the storage of data from paper records to electronic health information. While this move helps in reducing paperwork and making it easier to retrieve data when needed, it also exposes critical information to intruders. A security breach can have a huge negative impact on healthcare organizations. Put simply, a vulnerability within the security system can create an advantage for intruders to penetrate and harm the systems. In this case, managing cybersecurity risk in HIPAA helps in safeguarding patients’ and clients’ personal data. In the modern technological era, healthcare organizations ought to be protected from being accessed by unauthorized parties (Coronado & Wong, 2014).
Given that heavy penalties are imposed by HIPAA for violations, healthcare organizations dedicate much of their resources on cybersecurity, thus ensuring that patient and client information has been safeguarded from intruders. Given that healthcare organizations often share the patient’s personal data with authorized parties, such information can be accessed by intruders during the exchange. Thus, managing cybersecurity risk in HIPAA ensures that all the guidelines for securing data have been followed, thus preventing an incident of data breaching. Through HIPAA, healthcare organizations are able to control individuals who access healthcare data by implementing strict cybersecurity rules. Consequently, before patients present their personal data to healthcare organizations, they are asked for consent. In this case, proper cybersecurity risk management ensures that patients are consulted regarding the use of their data and sharing with third parties. By doing so, healthcare organizations prevent the misuse of information and the violation of patients’ rights.
Through the use of automated systems, a healthcare organization is able to monitor activities within its database. In this case, this approach helps in detecting any abnormalities within the systems and take the necessary actions. For instance, accessing the company’s database may require a user to provide a two-layer authentication. In this case, cybersecurity measures ensure that the individual is allowed to access the organization’s database. By adhering to the HIPAA guidelines, the healthcare organization is compelled to frequently train its employees on proper security measures to secure sensitive information. For instance, employees are taught how to avoid disclosing passwords and other login credentials to other parties especially people from outside the organizational setting.
Cybersecurity measures in HIPAA help in setting disaster recovery and data backup plans. In this regard, such healthcare systems are able to appropriately respond to cyber breaches and mitigate the issues. Consequently, it makes it easier to retrieve information in case a data breach causes a loss of data. This is done using back up techniques that make it possible to store information outside the company’s database and thereby secure important information. Finally, security measures in the healthcare systems implement certain policies to be adhered to by employees when accessing external websites. For instance, a healthcare organization may warn its employees about phishing messages that are used by intruders to deceive unsuspecting users to give them access without consent (Thompson & McDermott. 2017).
Drawbacks
Despite its benefits in improving patient access to personal information, managing cybersecurity in HIPAA creates administrative constraints for healthcare organizations and professionals. In this case, failure to adhere to security guidelines attracts huge fines that can affect the financial state of the healthcare organizations. The most notable aspect regarding this approach is that slight mistakes in complying with the guidelines can attract fine for organizations. This factor makes it difficult for healthcare organizations to operate adequately due to the underlying uncertainties. The security measures require patients to obtain their test results in person, thus leading to numerous challenges for individuals who experience difficulties in arriving at the hospital setting Debra (Cascardo, 2016).
The increased caution has also been felt when patients need to acquire specific information from the hospital’s database. In this case, the extra layer of security implemented according to the HIPAA act makes it challenging for many patients. In some cases, the guidelines require doctors and healthcare practitioners to submit written request letters for patients to gain access to their personal information or share information with third parties. In this case, the process of reaching out to the patients and acquiring their consent can be a long process. Also, this approach results in time wastage and thereby delaying certain treatments or procedures.
Amid the frustrations involved in the process, patients may lose faith in the organization and opt for another healthcare organization with less strict security guidelines. In this arrangement, shortcomings in the enforcement of violations may occur. Apart From the costs incurred as fines for the violation, additional finances are required to set up an effective security infrastructure to guard the database of a healthcare organization. Additionally, the HIPAA requires healthcare organizations to ensure compliance by the workforce, thus requiring them to undergo training on proper handling of personal information. In this case, certain costs and time are wasted in the process, thus delaying other activities within the healthcare setting.
Despite the initial costs, the HIPAA act requires continuous monitoring of the systems and security measures to identify potential intrusions in advance. In this case, some healthcare settings may lack adequate infrastructure and manpower to ensure proactive cybersecurity. This approach requires the organization to perform a regular risk analysis that may take the time required for other essential activities. The compliance with the set guidelines can bring confusion within the healthcare setting regarding the handling of information.
The high rates of penalties for violations may make doctors reluctant to release personal details to other healthcare practitioners. On the other hand, the encouragement for healthcare providers to collaborate across systems makes it challenging to decide on how to approach such issues. The need for constant updates on the information can drain an organization’s resources since it would require the hiring of cybersecurity professionals. On the other hand, failure to conduct a proactive protection approach can grant intruders access to the database and therefore result in a security breach. The HIPAA privacy guidelines are strict and therefore result in certain restrictions. For instance, during emergency situations, the misinterpretation of the HIPAA guidelines may delay patients from getting timely help (Dedeke, 2017).
Reference
Coronado, A. J., & Wong, T. L. (2014). Healthcare cybersecurity risk management: Keys to an effective plan. Biomedical instrumentation & technology, 48(s1), 26-30.
Debra Cascardo, M. A. (2016). Insights into cybersecurity risks: The key to survival is resiliency. The Journal of Medical Practice Management: MPM, 32(3), 169.
Dedeke, A. (2017). Cybersecurity framework adoption: using capability levels for implementation tiers and profiles. IEEE Security & Privacy, 15(5), 47-54.
Thompson, E. C., & McDermott. (2017). Building a HIPAA-Compliant Cybersecurity Program. Apress.