Healthcare providers have been actively adopting digital transformation, including the implementation of Electronic Medical Record (EMR) software, to enhance their ability to deliver flexible care and strive for universal access among underserved populations.
The ongoing pandemic has significantly expedited these initiatives, compelling providers to further expand their focus on remote clinics, telemedicine, and other essential transformation endeavors. Now, let’s take a moment to examine three crucial areas and the corresponding security capabilities that are paramount for healthcare providers in 2023 and beyond.
Hybrid Work and Care from Anywhere
In the era of digital transformation, healthcare providers have embraced the power of technology to extend care beyond traditional brick-and-mortar facilities. With the advent of mobile clinics and telemedicine, healthcare professionals can now provide care virtually anywhere, breaking down geographical barriers and reaching underserved populations. However, as these providers expand their reach through new clinics and remote access, they must ensure that security remains a top priority.
Each new clinic or connected user represents a potential entry point for malicious actors seeking to gain unauthorized access to critical healthcare resources. The sensitive nature of patient data and the potential impact on patient care make robust security capabilities imperative.
Healthcare organizations must invest in advanced security measures to safeguard their systems, networks, and patient information from cyber threats. This includes implementing firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems, encryption protocols, and secure authentication mechanisms to protect against unauthorized access and data breaches.
Furthermore, healthcare providers recognize the importance of maintaining uptime and availability to ensure uninterrupted care delivery. Downtime can have severe consequences for patient health and safety.
Therefore, healthcare organizations need to adopt resilient infrastructure and employ redundancy measures to minimize the risk of system failures. Redundant systems, backup power supplies, and disaster recovery plans are essential components of a comprehensive security strategy.
Additionally, healthcare providers are increasingly leveraging a hybrid workforce beyond the immediate frontline staff. This includes remote workers, contractors, and third-party vendors who require secure access to the organization’s systems and data.
Modern networking and security techniques such as Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) or Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) 2.0 can play a crucial role in meeting the growing connectivity needs while maintaining stringent security standards. These approaches prioritize identity-based authentication, continuous monitoring, and adaptive access controls to ensure that only authorized individuals can access sensitive resources.
Securing connected devices, including IoMT
The number of devices that connect to sensitive data, such as patient information, has also grown due to the increase in remote clinics and hybrid working. The providers need complete visibility of the user devices as well as a growing number connected medical devices which are spread across an increasingly decentralized network.
Understanding the risks associated with these devices is equally important. For a Zero Trust strategy, it is important to have a policy of least privilege access for each device type. It is important to ensure that connected devices do not become a portal for sensitive information about patients and their personal details. It also addresses availability requirements, ensuring that devices which are crucial in providing healthcare are always available and healthy.
Security Operation: Automation and Simplification
The healthcare industry is not immune to the dangers of an overly complex set of security tools, or cumbersome manual procedures. Due to an overabundance of point solutions, many organizations struggle to meet the modern security requirements posed by digital transformation.
This is due to a lack of resources that makes it difficult to adopt modern security frameworks like Zero Trust. Security professionals in healthcare should consolidate and streamline their security stack. Palo Alto Networks Network Security can provide critical security features, including intrusion prevention (IP), advanced malware protection (AMP), DLP, Internet of Medical Things Security (IoMT), URL Filtering, to name just a few.
All of this is possible with an integrated and expandable solution. The organization should also consider automating manual security tasks in order to allow security teams to concentrate on more important tasks and improve the mean time for detection and response.
Security is an Enabler – Delivering high levels of care while protecting patient data
In the rapidly evolving landscape of healthcare IT infrastructure, security is assuming an increasingly crucial role. As healthcare organizations embrace hybrid work models and incorporate telemedicine into their practices, ensuring secure and flexible accessibility to sensitive data and systems becomes a top priority.
Additionally, the proliferation of Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) devices, such as wearable health monitors and connected medical equipment, has become essential in delivering timely and effective patient care.
However, with the integration of these devices, healthcare organizations face the challenge of inventorying, evaluating, and protecting them against potential service disruption and cybersecurity threats.
To establish a robust security framework, healthcare organizations must prioritize security as the foundation of all their IT infrastructure activities. This includes implementing stringent access controls, strong authentication mechanisms, and encryption protocols to protect patient data from unauthorized access or breaches. Regular security assessments and vulnerability testing should be conducted to identify and address any potential weaknesses in the system.
In addition to securing patient data and systems, healthcare organizations must also consider the security of their medical practice management software. This software plays a vital role in streamlining administrative tasks, scheduling appointments, managing electronic health records, and facilitating billing processes.
Ensuring the security and integrity of such software is crucial to safeguarding the privacy of patient information and maintaining the smooth operation of the organization. Implementing robust security measures, such as secure coding practices, regular software updates, and penetration testing, helps mitigate vulnerabilities and reduces the risk of data breaches or system compromises.
As healthcare organizations continue to evolve their IT infrastructure, security will remain a constant concern. By prioritizing security as an integral part of their operations, healthcare providers can ensure that patient data remains protected, systems remain operational, and the delivery of care remains uninterrupted.
Embracing robust security practices and staying vigilant against emerging threats will be essential for healthcare organizations to thrive in the digital age while providing safe and accessible care for all.
