Global pandemics like COVID-19 are unprecedented situations, which call for unprecedented action. This mantra is especially true in the field of healthcare, where in early 2020, operations shifted to pre-dominantly virtual care. This action was initiated to keep people apart and from further spreading a virus we knew so little about.

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With the development of many software applications and web-based platforms, it is now easy to access healthcare facilities and information electronically. Gone are the days where patients had to wait for a long time to even get an appointment. Now it is a matter of minutes to get an appointment, purchase insurance, get access to health reports and other data online.

But with the development of new and sophisticated technology, these software apps and web-based platforms face security threats along the way. Because of these security threats, there is a need to implement rules and regulations to make sure that the technology is not misused. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) introduced in 1996 is a standard created to ensure that the privacy and health details of the patient are safe at all times and would not be disclosed to anyone without the consent of the patient.

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With artificial intelligence taking over the world in the guise of convenience, there is no second thought now that AI will replace humans for complex jobs as well. Learning from human behavior, artificial intelligence has developed so much that it can even perform health care functions like tracking overall patient health, organizing appointments, and collecting patient data for storing health records, to name a few. Considering the present global scenario, where health care workers are hesitant with in-person patient contact because of the fear of contracting the Covid-19 virus, and with mass resignation of workers because of vaccine mandates at work in free countries, it looks like the conditions are fertile for artificial intelligence to compensate for the shortage of workers being faced in healthcare industries.

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When patients see their doctors, it is not uncommon for them to be referred to a specialist to better address concerns. For the specialist to assist a new patient, electronic health record (EHR) information must be exchanged between the referring practitioner and the new one. This can be risky considering the threat of EHR security breaches during the exchange process. In addition, in the United States, healthcare practitioners must only exchange EHR information using approved transfer methods outlined by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Failure to do so can result in steep fines for EHR and HIPAA violations.

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The healthcare industry will forever be the target of cyberattacks due to the array of information included in the healthcare record.

With this in mind, the need for cybersecurity is not going away. It is becoming a more predominant focal point in the industry, as you will see shortly. If your organization is struggling to justify the financial cost of adding cybersecurity to yearly budgets, consider asking yourself the following questions:

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A mobile help desk is a tool used by organizations to better communicate with their customers. It provides the opportunity to not only standardize communications but also to improve the speed of replies. Help desks initially began as ticketing systems to handle customer concerns but have grown to become a one-stop-shop for customer service best practices. What can a mobile help desk do for you today? It provides insight into the experiences of your customers and internal features including the performance of your support teams.

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In the United States, healthcare organizations are required to abide by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996. This act provides guidelines pertaining to the handling of patient information across a number of platforms. When healthcare organizations are looking for cloud solutions to manage their data, ensuring that they are HIPAA compliant is a necessity.

The Office for Civil Rights in the United States periodically conducts HIPAA compliance audits on healthcare organizations. Most recently, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) performed audits of 166 covered entities and 41 business associates to check on compliance with selected provisions of the HIPAA Rules. Whether done through ignorance or negligence, HIPAA violations often come with large fines that can range from hundreds of thousands of dollars, to millions, depending on the severity.

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In the health sector, priority is always given to saving lives while the security of personal health records (PHR) is sometimes overlooked. This is because, in comparison to emergencies, the storage of information seems very insignificant. As a result, an increasing number of healthcare providers are facing the consequences.

A new report by Black Book Market Research forecasts that data breaches against the healthcare industry are likely to triple in 2021. The survey also found that 75% of the organizations responding felt they were not prepared to act when a cyberattack hits and almost all (96%) felt that cyber criminals were ahead and outpacing their organizations.

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HIPAA has become more important now than ever before as more people are relying on telemedicine and other forms of online care. In March 2020, the U.S. Office for Civil Rights (OCR) division of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that it would not apply penalties for "non-compliance with the HIPAA Rules related to the good faith provision of telehealth during the COVID-19 nationwide public health emergency." This mandate will continue into 2022 as more people utilize Telehealth services across the nation.

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