People are migrating towards online dental consultations. With utter faith in the security system of their dentist’s network, they reveal private information, including financial details. As a dentist, you may be trained to offer the utmost care and quality dental treatment to your patients. But what about your patient’s data security? According to a report, the medical data breach amounts to the highest in any industry. More than 37 million records were breached during the last ten years. Hackers target small dental practices as they are a good source of bulk information without much security. Using dental practice management software can aid in information security. Here are five ways through which you can protect your patient’s information.
Undertake HIPAA Security Risk Assessment
Healthcare providers need to undergo electronic security risk assessment as a part of regular compliance required by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). An assessment tool is given to dental and medical practitioners that make the procedure convenient. A small dental practice can use the assessment report for outlining the risks and scope of improvement in their data security. Additionally, HIPAA offers a plethora of resources for dentists, such as electronic security toolkits.
Conduct Staff Training
Data breach and mishandling can be significantly reduced when the entire staff of a medical practitioner is aware of best security practices. As a small dental provider, your information is at higher risk due to low-security firewalls etc. Therefore, it is vital to conduct regular staff training and impart necessary awareness and resources for implementing best security practices in your practice. Make them well-versed in practice management softwares for better handling of information.
Go For A Cyber Security Challenge
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology conducts a lighthearted cybersecurity challenge for dental and medical practitioners and their respective staff. It involves multiple-choice questions based on real-life scenarios of data breach and threat to patient’s private information. The game covers holistic security practices ranging from encryption of data using softwares to data transfer using USB etc. After each round, the game provides feedback and information on best practices covered in the challenge.
Use Password Manager Tool
A password manager tool is a simple feature that uses complex passwords on any website you log onto for better information privacy. It is used as an add-on in your web browser. With such a tool, there is no hassle of remembering difficult passwords as the password manager stores each and every login information. According to a security report, this basic and easy change is one of the highest security practices as per cyber experts.
Consider Data Breach Coverage
You can add data breach security to your business’s insurance policy after consulting your insurance advisor. It covers training material and resources that can equip you and your staff for combatting data breach. In case a data breach occurs, the policy provides comprehensive information as per the compliance required by HIPAA for ensuring professional conduct to manage the breach. Moreover, the coverage offers other benefits, including reputation management, litigation defence funds etc.
Conclusion
Data privacy should be of utmost importance for small dental practitioners. We all know that reputation and trust among patients is crucial for a flourishing practice. By following these tips, a dental practice can reduce the risk of a data breach.
