Giva Blog Categories : Hospitals

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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What is Robotic Process Automation (RPA)?

Many organizations have turned their attention to automation to eliminate or reduce time-consuming tasks. This technology allows employees to focus on work that brings more value to the bottom line. With Robotic Process Automation (RPA), organizations automate tedious tasks, such as processing transactions, inputting data, and sending communications. Implementing an RPA into your organization can reduce the cost of labor and the risks associated with human error. Your clients may also see improved response times and accuracy of information sharing.

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Mentioning cryptocurrency and healthcare in the same sentence might make some scratch their heads. They seem like two completely different entities without any relation to one another. However, there is a correlation between the two, as cryptocurrency, like bitcoin, can be used to make purchases or entice service within the healthcare industry. Like blockchain, cryptocurrency is not managed by a central authority, making its ease of use one of its most attractive benefits. 

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Blockchain provides healthcare organizations and their patients with an alternative method for storing, viewing, and sharing electronic medical or health records (EMR/EHR). Blockchain is a secure digital ledger that is decentralized and usually doesn't have a singular authority. It allows a community, in this case, healthcare providers and patients, to record transactions onto a shared ledger. Each record is known as a transaction, and once a transaction is published, it cannot be changed. 

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Blockchain technology is changing the way information is stored, shared and viewed. What is Blockchain in healthcare? As described in a Deloitte report, it is a, "shared, immutable record of peer-to-peer transactions built from linked transaction blocks and stored in a digital ledger. Blockchain relies on established cryptographic techniques to allow each participant in a network to interact (e.g. store, exchange, and view information), without preexisting trust between the parties. In a blockchain system, there is no central authority; instead, transaction records are stored and distributed across all network participants."

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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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Any break in the standard flow of a business can result in severe financial losses. Where do these losses stem from? One of the most expensive business interruptions is IT or system downtime. What is system downtime? It's when a technological "glitch" shuts down production. For healthcare companies, it's when servers shut down and your electronic health records become unavailable. No appointment scheduling. No access to patient records. No processing of payments.

There are some estimates that downtime costs range from $427 per minute for small businesses to as high as $9,000 for large enterprises.

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Change management models are a crucial part of any organization. Healthcare settings in particular are known to be resistant to change and have a lot on the line when it comes to implementation. In order to stay competitive, it is important to know how best to implement change management strategies that will keep your organization running smoothly and efficiently. There are many different models for change management frameworks, but which ones work the best for healthcare?

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