Did you know that cyberattacks are one of the fastest-spreading crimes in the digital world? Cybercrime is the third-largest “economy,” right behind the United States and China, costing $6 trillion in 2021. In the U.S., apart from small businesses and individuals, the most affected victims are healthcare facilities. Yes, healthcare!
Telehealth is one practice that exposes you as a potential target of cybercrime. And in healthcare, each attack carries HIPAA compliance consequences beyond the immediate monetary loss.
Accelerated Adoption of Telehealth
In response to social distancing recommendations resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare providers are rapidly deploying remote or virtual healthcare services to sustain care for their patients.
Telehealth approaches are new to the patient and the provider in many cases. Novelty notwithstanding, maintaining patient privacy remains essential. Below are some critical recommendations for keeping patient information confidential and secure in these challenging times. The Department of Health and Human Services has its own recommendations at hhs.gov.
For Providers
Three rules to follow before starting telehealth sessions
- Always use HIPAA-compliant applications to reduce security and privacy risks.
- Share updated privacy and security practices with your patients through different channels, such as your website, or by phone or email with appointment reminders.
- Share some of the tips below with your patients to protect their health information during telehealth sessions.
Eight points to ponder during telehealth sessions
- Always use a private space and limit the number of people in a session. For providers, this means only personnel directly involved in the patient’s care and individuals the patient permits to participate.
- Any communication for setting up and starting sessions should use short-lived codes that expire.
- If possible, set up a private, effective communication channel to reduce the difficulty of starting sessions, the biggest cause of anxiety and frustration for both the provider team and the patient.
- Secure the room you are conducting sessions from (for example, close the door and post a sign outside asking unauthorized people not to enter while a session is underway).
- Use headsets to avoid being overheard, and position screens out of others’ line of sight.
- Enable all available encryption and privacy modes during sessions, and ask patients to follow procedures that keep third-party applications from creating privacy risks.
- Limit the information requested to what is necessary to treat the patient.
- Sign out of or close applications and turn off all microphones, cameras, and monitors once the session is complete.
For Patients
A short checklist before starting telehealth sessions
- Be aware of your healthcare provider’s updated privacy and security practices.
- Contact your healthcare provider with any questions or concerns about the privacy and security of information shared during your telehealth session.
Four guidelines to follow during telehealth sessions
- Pick a private location. Hold your session away from others, such as in a room with a door you can close, so you control who hears your conversation.
- Secure your device. Follow your healthcare provider’s instructions for securing the device you use, and log out of the session when you are done.
- Remove unnecessary items. Before talking with your healthcare provider, remove items you don’t need. Devices such as home security cameras, voice assistants, or anything else you are not using to contact your provider should be removed so they don’t capture sensitive information.
- Control your background. Be aware of what is displayed behind you during a video call and remove any personal information you do not want to share.
Buzz, a HIPAA-compliant platform, lets providers hold secure video visits or calls with patients quickly and easily.