The Internet of Things (IoT) has the potential to completely revolutionize the healthcare industry. Innovations like smart pacemakers and fitness trackers monitor patients’ vitals and unearth patterns that can lead to more accurate diagnoses. But like any new technology, it also brings a slew of security risks healthcare professionals need to address.
Voice over IP (VoIP) phone systems offer far superior mobility, functionality, and cost-efficiency than traditional landlines. But like any computer system, it can be vulnerable to service disruptions, equipment failure, and cyberattacks. With proper preparation, however, your phone systems can weather any disaster.
Ever since the WannaCry and Petya ransomware outbreaks, healthcare organizations have been on their toes. But just when they thought they could relax, a new strain of ransomware has come along. A “Locky-variant” ransomware campaign is currently underway, and it’s every bit as dangerous as previous ransomware attacks.
New IT trends are usually equal parts exciting and confusing. Today, that generalization describes blockchain technology perfectly. It’s a complex concept that has the potential to totally revolutionize every industry -- including healthcare. Even if you have no plan to invest in blockchain soon, you need to understand what it is.
Modern-day cyber criminals utilize every resource possible to launch attacks, one of which has been publicly available until now. Google had just overhauled its personal information policy, especially for the healthcare industry, resulting in the removal of private medical records from its search results.
Hospitals and healthcare organizations are usually the first victims of malware attacks. WannaCry ransomware -- malicious software that encrypts files until the victim decides to pay the Bitcoin ransom -- took advantage of this when it hit several healthcare institutions last month.
Two trends have been rising in popularity in tandem: HIPAA compliance audits and social media. Obviously both of these are far too important to be correlated directly, but they do intersect with each other. Social media tends to push people toward oversharing, and that’s definitely something you don’t want when hosting regulated patient data.
Physicians in certain parts of the world still make house calls, but they’re a rare breed. Today, most patients either go to a neighborhood clinic or hospital, or make a quick trip to a pharmacy for instant relief. Patients who prefer to get treated in the comfort of their own home have another option too: telemedicine.
No healthcare provider today can operate without robust technology backing them. That doesn’t mean they have to spend excessively on IT infrastructure they have to manage themselves. One of those tech expenses include costly healthcare software, complete with on-premise components that a healthcare company will be much better off outsourcing.
Even if notable punishments and fines for HIPAA non-compliance have only been doled out over the last 6 years, data privacy regulations have been around for 14. And with each passing year, these rules evolve in ways that make it near impossible to keep up without an expert on hand.
