Much like healthcare organizations, law firms are often home to hundreds of thousands of files, each containing sensitive personal and situational information. The loss of this information by user error or by a cyber attack can be devastating to clients who will have to endure yet another burden.
Healthcare organizations must remain vigilant to defend against critical IT situations, while always placing the need for increased security, protection of sensitive patient data and meeting regulatory compliance at the top of their lists. Implementing a well-rounded cloud system can help with this and more.
According to a recent NTT Data report on cloud cultures, "nearly 61 percent of organizations in the US and Canada are committed to implementing cloud adoption as quickly as possible." Though when it comes to implementing cloud services, the report notes that cultural change presents the greatest roadblock. This is despite an organization's commitment to moving enterprise applications to the cloud in an efficient manner.
Telehealth is quickly revolutionizing healthcare as the world struggles against the COVID-19 pandemic. The innovative service ensures the implementation of self-isolation for viral and non-viral patients, while giving them continued access to medical care from the comfort of their homes.
According to recent U.S. Census data, nearly 5% of Americans are working remotely. That is equivalent to almost 8 million people.
So, with more people working away from the office these days, the need for employers to ensure that employees are well-prepared is of utmost importance. Part of being prepared involves having the right technology, software licenses, and access to support, as quickly as one would while being at an office or other similar location. Allowing employees to work remotely using company technology also raises questions about data and device security. If these things concern you, even slightly, it is likely time for you to invest in an asset management system. Still not convinced? We have a few reasons why you should consider it.
The drastic spread of the COVID-19 virus has led to a necessity of physical distancing, especially in the overwhelmed field of healthcare. This emerging situation has created opportunity for innovation in technology to assist healthcare providers. While there are strides being made in data management and telehealth, hackers are revealing gaps in cybersecurity by continuous attacks on medical organizations, as well as unsuspecting companies and individuals. The FBI has stated that the number of cyber crime reports has quadrupled when compared to the months prior to the COVID-19 crisis. Bitdefender also reports a 475% increase in cyber criminality in the month of March in comparison to February 2020 due to the pandemic. As technology is redefining the medical field, anti-virus and service management corporations could start redefining cybersecurity. Currently, companies have to be vigilant against the following types of attacks from cyber criminals:
The U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) first began conducting HIPAA audits in 2014. The purpose of these audits is to ensure the protection of each individual's personal health information (PHI) by minimizing the possibility of data breaches.
Equipped with the following knowledge, your company can begin to prepare for the assessments in an effort to ensure that you are ready when notified of a future audit.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed many gaps in the world's cloud infrastructure. However, countries have been rapidly mobilizing their resources to overcome these obstacles and address damages. Recently the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released new guidelines for industries employing cloud collaboration services for their COVID-19 telework. The surge in cyber attacks has undoubtedly been a cause for alarm.
Attention telehealth and telemedicine providers:
With the advent of COVID-19, it can be very difficult to meet the demands of new and exponentially scaling patient requests for service. Have you been able to effectively assist your patients using your telehealth platforms? Is any aspect of your telehealth customer service suffering or falling through the cracks? Are you successfully handling new daily challenges with patient onboarding or technical telehealth service issues? Our nation has risen to the task in crises past, and this is yet another opportunity to prove our collective ingenuity and creativity in its attempt to manage the COVID-19 pandemic.
Attention commercial and academic medical testing labs:
In light of COVID-19, how is your testing lab set up to securely, quickly and easily sync results and tracking information with local hospitals and healthcare organizations while performing ongoing, exponentially growing testing? As our nation continues to navigate into deeper waters in its attempt to manage the COVID-19 pandemic, this is an opportunity for your organization to meet this unexpected challenge and create a HIPAA compliant tracking system that will provide:
The COVID-19 pandemic is pushing many healthcare providers to augment their physical clinics with telehealth options for their patients. Telehealth may be transforming into an important healthcare sector itself and the need to establish strict, comprehensive and applicable guidelines is now even more vital for the healthcare industry.
