As the healthcare industry evolves into a fully digital landscape, the data generated and flowing throughout the ecosystem has become more crucial than ever. What makes things more complicated here is the nature of the data processed by software systems. The sensitive and personal nature of the information requires its protection.
The patient data collected in the electronic EHR contains almost the entire medical history of the patient. This data can reveal many things that could put the patient at risk, directly compromising the patient's basic rights.
This is the reason why there are several regulatory bodies governing the security aspects of this healthcare software. Every healthcare software must take robust security measures that ensure the confidentiality of patient data and protect it from external and internal cyber threats that may arise.
Data security and compliance are among the major aspects of any healthcare software system, especially EHR software. In such a scenario, personalized electronic health records can be your one-stop solution to solve all your data security related issues.
In this blog, we'll look at exactly how this can ensure patient safety and help improve the overall patient care experience.
Why is data security important in healthcare?
Before we get into the details of how a custom EHR Software Helps Protect Patient DataLet us first briefly understand the need for data security in the healthcare industry and why it has become so important in today's healthcare landscape.
- The rise of digital health records
The shift from paper recordkeeping to electronic health records has resulted in a dramatic change in the way healthcare organizations operate and the way care is delivered to patients. It has helped healthcare organizations better manage health records with increased accessibility.
The introduction of EHRs has improved the efficiency of healthcare providers and helped get the entire healthcare team on the same page and working towards the same goal.
- HIPAA Compliance and Data Security
Given the sensitive nature of personal health information, it is important to ensure its security and protect it from external threats. Being one of the leading countries in transitioning the healthcare sector to a fully digital landscape, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act was introduced. All healthcare facilities offering virtual care using technology in their practice in any form were required to comply with its regulations.
These regulations ensure that patient data is private and stored securely. This helps patients know that their health data is safe and is being used to improve their health and quality of care. Additionally, failure to comply with HIPAA regulations can result in heavy penalties and damage to the reputation of healthcare organizations.
How do custom EHRs improve data security?
- Tailored security features
The benefit of customizing your electronic health records system is that you benefit from specific features tailored to your needs and requirements. Additionally, it can be designed with specific security features capable of meeting all necessary compliance requirements and protocols.
For example, access control can be implemented to ensure that only authorized personnel can access patient information. This will ensure internal security within the firm. Apart from this, when the data is in transition with encryptions, you can ensure data privacy.
The software may also integrate additional security features such as audit trails, which can help you find flaws in the system so you can improve it in real time. All these features protect data from unauthorized access by other lateral and internal parties. Going further, it also generates a sense of trust among patients and maintains the integrity of healthcare practice while playing a crucial role in the growth of the practice.
- Reduced risk of third-party vulnerabilities
Most EHRs adopted by healthcare organizations are commercially available or pre-built EHRs. These EHRs have various vulnerabilities that compromise data security during transitions. Since these software solutions are widely used, third-party vulnerabilities provide various opportunities for threats.
In such a scenario, custom EHR software can significantly reduce the risk of data loss during the transition. Since you have the freedom to customize your EHR software to your needs, the focus will be on mitigating known vulnerabilities and making the ideal EHR software for your practice.
Along with this, by adopting a smaller vendor attack surface, your custom EHR software can provide you with every possible point where an unauthorized user can access the system and extract data. This helps you understand the vulnerabilities that exist in the system and you can fix them in real time without disrupting the process.
- Improved compliance management
When you enter the specialty practice space, there are specific compliance requirements that you must meet, this may not be limited to healthcare practice, but also if you are starting a specific virtual care program.
For example, to start a remote patient monitoring program, in addition to complying with HIPAA and the HITECH Act, you must also comply with the FDA and other regulatory agencies. These compliances may also vary if the region in which you operate varies. Since HIPAA only regulates the healthcare industry in the United States, you may need to comply with GDPR if you operate in Europe.
The benefit of custom EHR software is that it can be built with specific requirements to ensure the smooth operation and security of the practice.
Along with this, built-in compliance features and automated workflows help to completely eliminate human intervention and therefore human errors. This will not only help you effectively streamline your data flow and manage that data in a much better way with all the security measures that might put the data and your practice at risk.
Peace of mind with personalized EHR security
The security features offered by custom EHRs have become very popular among healthcare providers. This eliminates the risk of putting data at risk during transition and at rest. Additionally, the customizations it offers in terms of security and compliance with health regulations simply give the firm much more flexibility in its work and expand its reach to different geographies.
However, the main concern many healthcare providers have when developing custom EHR software is cost. While this cost may be higher than commercially available software solutions, in the long run it can be a cost-effective venture that can set a standard for your practice with strong security.
Do you want peace of mind and not worry about data protection in your EHR software systems? Well, that could become true with the right custom EHR development company.
Conclusion
Data security in healthcare has become extremely important with the mass adoption of digital health software systems. This not only helps maintain the integrity of your practice, but also saves you from many legal issues that could arise from it.
Improve your data protection today and gain peace of mind when it comes to protecting your patients' sensitive information with custom EHR software development. Also, if we missed something, Click here and we will be happy to help you further.