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Diagnostics
Increase Use of EMR, Increase Risk of Data Breach
| Author: Nicole Skinner |
| Article Date: 4/27/2010 |
Electronic Medical Records (EMR) have become a great technological development in medical practices. More and more physicians are moving towards this paperless health system. The federal government is offering financial incentives to physicians and hospitals to adopted a certified EMR system starting next year. Along with the benefits of these electronic systems comes responsibility for security.
What should employers keep in mind to ensure the security of patients personal and medical information?
In a recent article posted on Amednews (4/16/2010), there are some simple yet very important steps employers should be taking to reduce the risk of data breach.
Monitoring Systems. Monitoring systems should be in place to red flag situations when employees are logging in and obtaining information late at night and when information is being sent to mobile devices or personal e-mail addresses, etc. Monitoring systems can be automated or outsourced to a third party.
Sharing Passwords. Especially in small practices but not limited to, passwords are often shared between employees that share duties and responsibilities. Although sharing passwords may save time and make work loads lighter on the individual, each employee should have their own passwords. In the unfortunate event of a data breach, individual passwords saves time and suspicion. As the employer, you should state a zero tolerance to sharing passwords to all employees and firmly follow through with corrective action if sharing occurs.
Changing Passwords on a Regular Basis. If there is a data system where one password is used for all employee access, that password should be changed regularly and immediately after an employee has departed from the business. Individual passwords should also be changed on a regular basis to reduce the risk of one employee accessing and abusing another employee's password.
For more information and survey statistics, visit Amednews.