Overlooking HIPAA Compliance: A Risk Not Worth Taking

It’s bad enough that your industry is a primary target for cybercriminals. It’s even worse to take little to no action to prepare and protect your organization.

As a healthcare services provider, you have an established IT infrastructure. But how regularly is this infrastructure updated, managed, and, most importantly, kept HIPAA compliant? Let’s face it: poor cybersecurity leads to not being HIPAA compliant, resulting in cybersecurity attacks and breaches down the road. Many organizations assume they follow all HIPAA requirements, but the numbers prove otherwise…

• 47% of healthcare data breaches stem from cybercriminal attacks.
• Between 2019 and 2021, $25 billion was lost to data breaches alone in the healthcare sector.
• Healthcare data breaches have the highest cost out of any industry: averaging $408 per record.
• There is an estimated 6% chance of a breach in the healthcare industry of at least 5 million records in 2022.
• The average cost of a cyberattack in the healthcare sector is $3.62 million.

Unfortunately, when it comes to cybersecurity, the majority of healthcare services providers still feel backed into a wall. Knowing the risks of poor HIPAA compliance, many organizations excuse not meeting all requirements due to limited resources, high costs, or relying solely on their current IT department.

A Newfound Partnership

Thankfully, we have the solution: a partnership with VC3. Outsourcing your IT security needs means you no longer have to handle HIPAA compliance alone.

By completing a regular audit of your IT infrastructure, VC3 certifies your healthcare organization is HIPAA compliant. So, what are the steps?

1. Assess your current security policy and make revisions if necessary.
2. Review your current IT infrastructure including all necessary compliance documentation.
3. Work with a strategic advisor, your personal security officer with whom you discuss all aspects of your network. They will cover topics from firewall management to software monitoring, and address where your data lives and how to protect it, including secure storage and accessibility.
   
4. Conduct a security risk assessment, including regular vulnerability scanning.
5. Assist in employee training and educate your employees about data security.
6. Establish a data breach plan that identifies incident response protocols and how VC3 will help guide you in the event of a breach. Your plan should include how to handle the breach, communicate about the breach, and prevent future breaches.

What’s Your Role?

Our IT infrastructure audit alone isn’t enough to make you HIPAA compliant. It’s up to you to enforce additional security measures. As a healthcare services provider, the biggest cybersecurity challenge you face comes from within through insider threats.

• 54% of healthcare business associates state their top concern is reckless employee handling of patient records.
• 81% of healthcare cybersecurity attacks stem from employee negligence.
• 69% of healthcare organizations cite employee negligence as their top vulnerability.
• 88% of healthcare workers open phishing emails.

From 2020 to 2021, insider threats grew to 4,716, signifying a 50% increase in data breaches caused by healthcare staff (Source).

Prevent your organization from adding to this number by taking these 3 steps:

1. Solidify third-party and/or healthcare business associate relationships: Ensure they understand and uphold your security plan and protection policies.
   
2. Review your employee education and training: Ensure your staff understands your policies and how to stay vigilant against common cybersecurity attacks.
   
3. Ask VC3: We are your subject matter experts and are here to help address additional questions or concerns you have.

Need Help? Look No Further!

Belonging to the healthcare industry is strenuous and complex, but VC3 can help change that. As your healthcare IT provider, we simplify and strengthen your IT management while simultaneously growing your business.

If you’d like to learn more about cybersecurity for healthcare or simply need help determining the optimal protection solutions for you, VC3 is here to help!

Contact us today to learn more about your organization’s IT compliance needs!