vCTO Secure Blog

vCTO Secure has been serving the Seattle area since 2011, providing IT Support such as technical helpdesk support, computer support, and consulting to small and medium-sized businesses.

We are Seeing More IT Growth in Medicine

We are Seeing More IT Growth in Medicine

Technology has helped many industries push beyond their limits and embrace new operational methods that may not have been possible in the past. One of these industries is healthcare and medical IT. Thanks to these advancements, patients have more options now than ever before in how much control they have over their records, but providers must be wary of these changes in order to take advantage of them.

Electronic Medical Records
If you think about it, how many different doctors and practitioners does a single patient see throughout their lifetime? How about even during a single year? All of these doctors need access to the latest files in order for them to provide the best service possible to their patients. Unfortunately, keeping track of all these files can be challenging, and storing them in a secure location means keeping them locked in filing cabinets that take up a ton of space.

Electronic Medical Record (EMR) solutions are a viable solution here, as the patient records can be stored in a secure digital environment that can be consulted by the doctor as needed. While it doesn’t necessarily solve the issue of doctors needing access whenever possible, it does solve the physical space and security permissions issue to a certain extent. It certainly helps more than just having a filing cabinet that anyone can access at any given time.

Blockchain as a Solution
Even the above scenario in which numerous professionals need access to files can potentially be circumvented in the future through the use of technology. Blockchain could give users the ability to not only keep their doctors accountable, but also provide them with medical documents and information from other practitioners without the need to wait for documents to arrive at the new office. Plus, the blockchain is known for being permanent unless the majority of the network agrees that records must be changed, and even if they are changed, each subsequent record must be altered to reflect said change. It could be the perfect for maintaining security and accessibility of records.

HIPAA Compliance Reinforces Adoption
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA for short, has several aspects that must be addressed in order to maintain compliance. Essentially, HIPAA is designed to reinforce privacy of protected health information, or PHI. There limits placed on what can and can’t be shared. Information protected by HIPAA includes names, Social Security numbers, physical and mental wellness, treatments provided to patients, and payment information for services rendered. Any organization that uses this information as part of the health or medical industries must be compliant with HIPAA or face steep fines.

Does your business want to ensure HIPAA compliance? To learn more, reach out to us at (206) 895-5595.

Taking a Look at Facebook’s Recent Controversies
Tip of the Week: Improve Productivity with a Mobil...
 

Comments

No comments made yet. Be the first to submit a comment
Guest
Already Registered? Login Here
Guest
Friday, 29 March 2024

Captcha Image

Mobile? Grab this Article

QR Code
Dark Web Monitoring

When you visit the Internet, you are more than likely sticking to the pages that can be accessed by typing an address into your browser, or by clicking on a link in a search result.

Find Out More
Contact Us

Learn more about what vCTO Secure can do for your business.

Seattle, Washington

Call us: (206) 895-5595

Protect Your Reputation

With human error causing over 92% of data breaches, we understand the importance of focusing on the weakest link by empowering employees through self-improvement, personal protection, and engaging training that is relate-able, not demeaning.

Find Out More