As more industries move toward digital data storage, cybersecurity awareness becomes essential. Healthcare providers are finding themselves targeted because healthcare information is more valuable and easier to steal than credit card information. Medical data can sell for as much as $250 per record, with the next closest competitor — payment card information — not even breaking the $6 mark per sale. As a healthcare provider, you know how important it is to keep client information confidential and safe. The rise of cyberattacks has made this more difficult than ever. Misdelivery is still the most common error in medical sectors, accounting for 36% of breaches, but bad actors with financial motivations still make up the majority of the risk.
In order to protect your practice, it is important to make yourself aware of how to address the threats your practice may face. Here’s a primer on how to safely store healthcare payment information and secure online payment processing data.
Eight Ways to Safeguard Your Practice
Protecting your practice against data breaches and cyberattacks can be within your reach. These safety recommendations covering cybersecurity for healthcare providers can help your organization stay safer.
1. Watch your social media presence and avoid being a target.
Social media can be a valuable tool for connecting with your patients, but it can also make you a target and bring you to the attention of hackers.
2. Ensure you are using strong password management practices.
This includes never using duplicate passwords for different systems and changing your passwords frequently.
3. Use antivirus tools.
Antivirus tools aren’t ransomware-proof, but they can help to catch some malware and other dangerous programs before these threats can make their way into your systems.
4. Employ email and web-filtering tools.
Unless there is a reason to allow free web access on your network, web- and email-filtering tools can prevent hackers from gaining access to your systems.
5. Always create strong passwords.
Passwords should include uppercase and lowercase letters, as well as numbers and special symbols.
6. Implement multi-factor authentication on accounts.
Multi-factor authentication is easy to implement and nearly impossible for hackers to bypass.
7. Keep software updated and continue patching promptly.
Utilizing old software, especially if it is no longer supported by its original creator (i.e. Microsoft ceasing updates for older operating systems) can create additional risks by leaving back doors open that give bad actors access to otherwise secure systems. Keeping programs updated and applying patches promptly closes these doors before they can be accessed.
8. Create backups to ensure data can be recovered in the event of a ransomware attack or other destructive cyberattack.
Paying the ransom isn’t the only option in a ransomware attack. Disconnected backups allow you to restore anything lost without giving in to hackers or cyber attackers. Even better, one of the easiest ways to protect patient information and increase satisfaction is to invest in secure online payment platforms.
Why Should You Invest in Secure Online Payment and Automation Platforms?
When it comes to online healthcare payment processing, secure online platforms are effective tools for protecting against tampering.
Using Rectangle Health’s solutions to settle electronic patient payments means your practice will meet HIPAA, EMV, and PCI compliance requirements, all while being protected against fraud and other risks.
To ensure HIPAA compliance, we keep protected health information (PHI) safe by storing all customer data in an encrypted digital vault and removing all sensitive information from your premises, servers, and computers. There’s no risk that someone will break into your physical practice to steal information because there is no local data for them to steal.
An EMV-compliant point-of-sale and practice management bridge offers you dual verification, fraud reduction, and reduced financial liability. Finally, becoming and staying PCI-compliant helps you stay compliant with HIPAA while avoiding fines and penalties. This can also be a useful tool for protecting yourself and your practice from liability should fraud occur.
Looking Forward
Rectangle Health specializes in safely and securely storing information using advanced technologies to ensure maximum protection for practices of all sizes. Our services include fraud monitoring, chargeback protection, address verification, point-to-point encryption, and tokenization, among others. Security is our priority, protecting both your practice and patients with the highest standards for compliance.
