Technology is everything in the health information management landscape. The industry depends on new innovations to optimize operations and enhance patient care. One crucial aspect of this advancement is the use of document management software (DMS) to organize, share, manage, secure, and store patient data efficiently. However, with the convenience of digital systems comes the responsibility of safeguarding protected health information (PHI) from unauthorized access and breaches. Healthcare is still the industry most vulnerable to cyberattacks, and last year’s record 725 large security healthcare data breaches shows how this threat is proliferating. Keeping PHI safe is critical.
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Here, we'll explore the important ways DMS provides responsible cyber security risk management by ensuring the security of your PHI, providing peace of mind to health information managers and all healthcare professionals, as well as to the patients they serve.
Document management software implements robust access control measures to regulate who can access PHI within the system. Role-based access control (RBAC) assigns specific permissions and privileges based on the user's role and responsibilities. For example, healthcare professionals in radiology may have access to patient records relevant to their specialty, while administrative staff may have access to billing and scheduling information. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) adds an extra layer of security by requiring users to verify their identity through remote secure authentication and multiple factors such as passwords or security tokens like a code texted to their phone.
One of the primary ways DMS protects PHI is through encryption, which transforms sensitive data into unreadable code, making it virtually impossible for unauthorized individuals to decipher the information. Advanced encryption standards, such as AES (Advanced Encryption Standard), are used to secure data both at rest (stored data) and in transit (data being transmitted between systems). This ensures that even if data is intercepted, it remains protected and confidential, crucial to keeping PHI safe.
Since sensitive information is often exchanged between different healthcare providers, insurers, and patients, document management software ensures a secure communication channel through encrypted emails and secure messaging platforms for safe data transmission. Secure protocols like HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) protect data exchanged over networks, preventing eavesdropping and data interception by unauthorized parties. Additionally, when data is transmitted electronically rather than through actual paperwork, it can be safeguarded; paper files are easily lost, misfiled, or can end up in unlocked cabinets. A secure cloud-based digital system eliminates this threat.
Maintaining data integrity is crucial in healthcare, as any unauthorized changes or tampering can have serious consequences to a patient’s health. DMS uses data integrity checks and barcodes to ensure that PHI remains accurate and unaltered. Additionally, auditing functionalities track and log access to patient records, providing a comprehensive audit trail should there be any issues. This enables health information managers to monitor for any suspicious activities and promptly investigate any potential security incidents. Knowing how to prevent data breaches in healthcare is an ounce of prevention since catching them early is key to eradicating them.
Related: How to Create a Cybersecurity Risk Assessment.
The best document management software systems help healthcare professionals adhere to stringent regulatory standards and guidelines to ensure PHI security and privacy. Through capabilities like version control, DMS ensures that all users only have access to the most up-to-date documents and forms. Since it’s digital, it also ensures all forms are legible and accurate, something not easy to control with paper forms and documents. Since compliance frameworks like HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) set strict requirements for protecting PHI and impose penalties for non-compliance, DMS also generates reports and audit trails to meet their requirements, giving healthcare professionals confidence in the security of their systems.
Security is an ongoing process, and DMS employs continuous monitoring and threat detection mechanisms to detect and respond to potential security threats in real time. Intrusion detection systems (IDS) and intrusion prevention systems (IPS) monitor network traffic for suspicious activities and block unauthorized access attempts. Regular security updates and patches further strengthen the system's resilience against evolving cyber threats and healthcare data breaches.
The best document management software plays a crucial role in safeguarding Protected Health Information through access control measures, strong encryption, secure communication channels, regular data integrity checks and auditing, excellent compliance, and continuous monitoring and threat detection. Health information managers and healthcare professionals can trust that their patients' sensitive data is protected against healthcare data breaches, unauthorized access, and tampering, ensuring confidentiality, integrity, and availability of PHI within the healthcare ecosystem.
If you need help securing your health information, reach out today. We are committed to all HIPAA confidentiality and safety requirements and are SOC 2 type 1 and SOC 2 type 2 certified. Our systems engineers, software architects, and developers adhere to all security best practices and always stay ahead of the cyber curve. We also carry extensive cyber insurance. DigiDoc has helped to safeguard the data of thousands of patients and stands ready to protect yours.