Computer Security in Healthcare

Computer security for clinicians works similarly to typical computer security, but health providers need to take extra care to keep their practice’s and patients’ information safe. When you handle your practice’s data, you must ensure that they stay private. Read more to learn about some basic precautions you can take to have optimal electronic health record (EHR) security.

The Importance of Healthcare Cybersecurity
When you manage your home computer’s security, you only have to worry about your own personal information. But when you work with EHR systems, you’re handling the personal information of every single patient you serve. As a health provider, your top goal is to keep your patients safe and healthy. But that principle doesn’t just apply to mental health and addiction — it counts for information safety, too. Your patient has permitted you to use their information, so you want to treat it just like you would your patient.

Managing your computer system’s security is also a crucial aspect of HIPAA compliance. HIPAA involves the care of electronic information in addition to information on paper. Violating HIPAA laws not only puts your patients in danger, but it also subjects you to legal penalties.

How to Make Your Computer and EHR System Secure
While the consequences of lax information security in your practice can be severe, healthcare cybersecurity is fairly simple and affordable. In fact, you may not have to pay any money at all thanks to free software. As part of your cybersecurity habits, you should:

• Keep all programs and hardware up-to-date. Updates don’t just improve features — they also adapt their security to constantly-changing threats like viruses and malware.
• Practice good password habits. Using the same password for every application makes it easy for hackers to take data from multiple sources. Once they have one password, they have them all. Use a password management service to create secure passwords without having to remember them all. Or, base every password on an easy-to-remember phrase.
• Use security software on a regular basis. Antiviruses, firewalls and anti-malware programs scan your computer for invaders and then remove them. Many of these programs run automatically on a regular basis, but if you have one that doesn’t, remember to run it frequently.
• Get two-factor authentication for services that offer it. Two-factor authentication sounds like a complicated term, but it actually just involves using another device like a phone to confirm a login. This simple measure can dramatically improve your computer security.

Orion’s AccuCare System
Using a secure EHR system is another way to make sure your patients’ records stay private. Our AccuCare web application operates on our secure servers so you don’t have to worry about managing your practice’s IT infrastructure. We keep hackers away by using the latest in firewall protection, tracking and encryption to manage the application. AccuCare users can access their files from any computer that connects to the internet, letting them safely work with data on-the-go. To learn more about our AccuCare EHR system, contact us and request a free demo.