We’ve all heard the classic “things you never want to hear your doctor say”:
“Trust me, this won’t hurt a bit!” (Which means, of course, it’s going to hurt).
Or this, during surgery: “I think I’m missing a contact lens! (Seriously, why are you awake during surgery anyway? Brain surgery? Still no consolation!)
But what if you’re a doctor, or any healthcare provider? What’s the last thing you want to hear?
In today’s world, I’m sure you can think of a few things.
This note from a hacker is definitely one: “Your patient data has been stolen, and is being held for ransom!”
Unfortunately, it’s become all too common. Ask any recent breach victim, or those dealing with possible HIPAA violations, fines, and lawsuits:
- Scripps Health – ransomware, $112.7 M in lost revenue and recovery costs (CA);
- Simon Eye Management – hacked email accounts (Wilmington, DE);
- Dignity Health – stolen laptop with PHI on it (CA);
- Coalinga State Hospitals – improper disclosure of PHI (CA);
- Austin Cancer Center – unauthorized access to PHI (TX)…
- the list goes on.
You have to wonder (and you should): If it can happen to them, how can my practice stay safe?
You’re Always a Target…
Don’t think you won’t be, just because you’re not a huge healthcare system. Hackers still want your data, and can put you out of business (see Wood Ranch Medical) with a basic ransomware attack even if you’re a smaller practice.
In addition, if you’re doing all your security yourself (hear us, we don’t advise it), you’ll also need to ask, How will I have the bandwidth to stay focused on my patients and run my business while maintaining all the technical aspects of compliant hosting with a superior level of cutting-edge security (24/7) for my sensitive data?
And make no mistake, you’ll need that security. Hackers today are themselves “cutting edge” – much smarter than you, and a 24/7 threat. The likelihood of being hacked increases exponentially with a “do-it-yourself HIPAA environment” and homemade security.
To be truly safe, you’ll need to exceed the hacker’s expertise. That means you’ll need a world-class security expert to design and maintain your own HIPAA environment, and to be vigilant to monitor your systems – every second of every day.
Here’s just a sample of what’s involved with managed hosting:
- securing the portals of your website (if it receives PHI) and updating all plugins
- patching and implementing security updates
- utilizing a multi-server approach, with a dedicated web server and isolated database server
- hardening all servers and optimizing database servers
- ensuring the latest antivirus
- managing all firewalls and security rules
- implementing and managing a solution for encryption of PHI data (in transit and in storage)
- guaranteeing the availability of your patient data with a viable backup plan should your data center ever meet disaster and go offline
- 24/7 monitoring and scanning
- and more…
Three Reasons to Unburden Yourself, and Embrace Managed Services
Here are 3 more things you never want to hear yourself saying – and won’t have to with our fully managed services:
- “I can’t treat my patients, because their records and histories are gone.”
- “I’ve lost productivity and revenue, because I can’t practice.”
- “I’m losing consumer confidence (my business reputation), because I let a hack happen and couldn’t protect the welfare of my patients.”
No Loss in Healing Treatments
You prize your ability to provide timely, effective healthcare treatments, but imagine if you couldn’t because your networks were down and critical applications were unavailable. Delayed (or no) treatment could spell disaster for your patients. Recent research has even linked an estimated 2100 deaths per year to data breaches.
Maintaining your network uptime and data availability is a core aim of HIPAA Vault’s fully managed services. Our proven security experts work hard to keep your environment up and running, responsive, and secure from vulnerabilities that can hold you hostage to ransomware and other causes of downtime. You and your patients will be relieved that their valuable treatments won’t be interrupted.
No Loss in Productivity and Revenue
As downtime continues, costs will quickly skyrocket. In addition to the human cost – your patients’ health – the IBM Security 2021 Cost of a Data Breach Report reveals that healthcare data breaches have risen to an average cost of $9.42 million. Of course, that could go much higher (see Scripps Health, above).
The good news is that an MSSP like HIPAA Vault can mitigate many of the common causes of system downtime. We offer a strategic method for data protection and ensuring uptime critical for maintaining healthcare services. This can actually help cut costs while streamlining your business operations.
No Loss in Consumer Confidence/Reputation
The American Medical Association has made it clear: cybersecurity has become a patient care issue. The reasons are clear: holistic care should include both physical health as well as care for someone’s person and livelihood. When a person’s identity is stolen (social security number, financial information, etc.) or their private medical records and health issues are made public, they may experience real harm.
If your practice should let that happen, your patients may question how much you have actually invested in their health and well-being. Your business practices will also be questioned and violations published, amounting to a potential loss of consumer confidence.
In contrast, a Managed Security Service Provider like HIPAA Vault not only simplifies your business concerns by shouldering the burden of data security for you, it’s an investment in the welfare of your patients – and can streamline your business costs at the same time.
Here are just 3 of the “good things you’ll hear” with our wide range of managed services:
1. We Provide An Efficient, Scalable Environment
HIPAA Vault will increase or decrease your resources (CPUs, memory, virtual servers, etc.) to optimize your system based on heavier or lighter loads. This maximizes efficiency, without a loss in performance. You’ll feel better knowing you’re getting what you need, without waste.
2. We Provide A Secure, HIPAA Compliant Environment
HIPAA Vault knows the latest threats to your system and will mitigate malware attacks and costly security breaches. We continually apply the latest in data loss protections (DLP) and security patches and updates.
Our full range of solutions – encrypted email, FTP servers, WordPress, and file-sharing drives – can also be an important part of your HIPAA compliant environment, and all are continuously monitored and maintained. You’ll rest easier knowing we’re on the job to protect you and your patients from a devastating breach.
3. We Preserve Your Vital Uptime and Fast Response Times
The increasing sophistication and dependence upon secure cloud processes for doing business make maintaining uptime all the more critical. A proven cloud expert, HIPAA Vault is dedicated to preventing the issues that impact your network efficiency and security.
24/7/365 infrastructure monitoring, routine backups, and Disaster Recovery services help your network remain available, and responsive. Your patients will be glad that your system hasn’t been compromised, and that they can still receive their important treatments.
Just What You Needed to Hear!
Partnering with HIPAA Vault can help you achieve these important patient safety goals while reducing your complexity and streamlining your business. We think that will be music to your ears – just what the doctor ordered!
Want to learn more about HIPAA Vault’s managed services? Give us a call! 760-290-3460.
Trust HIPAA Vault to provide the safe communications & positive patient experiences that you expect! All our solutions are designed to protect you from costly HIPAA violations and fines, and data breaches that can ruin your business reputation. Our fully-managed security is designed to limit your liability and bring peace of mind!