Healthcare Data Security: Data Protection a Critical Step on the Healthcare Digital Transformation Journey

SEPTEMBER 3RD, 2019

The smart digital hospital is no longer the future – it is here now.

According to a survey by Healthcare IT News, 59% of healthcare organizations have already started down the path to digital transformation, yet only 7% have fully executed a digital strategy.

With change comes challenges. At the top of the list, information security is often considered a hinderance to digital transformation as opposed to helping achieve it. Here, we discuss the top three security concerns around technology innovation, as reported by Healthcare IT News.

Privacy concerns under local regulations

GDPR. HIPAA. PIPEDA. OSHAS. The global alphabet soup of privacy regulations can make anyone’s stomach turn. But fall into non-compliance, and the governing agencies know exactly how to hit you where it hurts – your pocketbook. In healthcare organizations, Compliance and Privacy Officers are tasked with ensuring regulatory compliance, with a major aspect of that mission revolving around the security of patient data.

To address the challenges faced by Compliance and Privacy Officers, healthcare organizations require data protection solutions that can keep pace with the ever-evolving laws and regulations around patient data.

Lack of security architecture to protect growing amounts of data

Innovations in healthcare continue to generate data in an already data-driven industry. And that data must be protected and available at all times. With ransomware attacks running rampant against healthcare organizations and downtime affecting patient care when lives are literally on the line, the need for a business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR) strategy that incorporates a proven data protection solution is critical. Because protecting patient health information (PHI) isn’t a nice-to-have, it is a must.

Limited talent resources in healthcare IT

As in any industry, recruiting and retaining quality employees can be tough. And the healthcare IT industry is no different. IT professionals in healthcare experience unique job tasks, from heavy regulations to irregular shift-based hours to managing critical systems and growth of data.

Healthcare Finance News reports that the biggest challenge with recruiting IT talent is convincing them tech work in healthcare can be meaningful. Because everyone who works in healthcare is charged with providing quality patient care, from the doctors and nurses on the front lines to the IT professionals behind the scenes.

Protecting data on the healthcare digital transformation journey

Data is not only increasing in volume—it’s driving the transformation of the healthcare industry as we know it. As the wave of innovation accelerates healthcare organizations on the path of digital transformation, it’s more essential than ever that your data protection solution keeps data available to the clinicians, administrators, and patients who urgently need it.

Ensure your digital transformation journey is complete with a trusted data protection solution from Arcserve. Arcserve Unified Data Protection (UDP) offers better data protection that enables healthcare organizations to achieve their digital transformation goals.