A 3 Step Data Loss Prevention Strategy for Optometrists

The widespread adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) and innovative medical devices has led to the accumulation of vast amounts of patient data. While EHRs greatly benefit healthcare providers by streamlining access to information, they also present an attractive target for hackers due to the sheer volume of sensitive data they contain.

Optometrists aren’t immune to these threats either. For example, Colorado-based Panorama Eyecare experienced a significant breach in which nearly 400,000 patient and employee records were stolen, including social security numbers, names, dates of birth, and financial account information.

Healthcare and cyberattacks

According to the FBI, the most common industry for cyberattacks is the healthcare sector. In times like these, optometrists must educate themselves on effective data protection measures rather than relying solely on EHR companies, which are also vulnerable to data breaches. Here are three key steps every optometrist should follow to make sure their data is secured the right way!

1. Securing Sensitive Health Records from Unauthorized Access

Access to healthcare data should be given only to people who are authorized to do so. The goal of protecting your patient and employee data is to make sure it’s 100% secure across all channels.

Healthcare employees might be tempted to use unofficial apps or services to finish their work faster. These tools include popular chat apps, personal emails, and cloud storage services. However, using these can lead to data breaches because their sources are not secure.

2. Limiting Access to Data

Healthcare data is typically vulnerable when stored locally on employees’ hard disks. Files holding sensitive information are frequently used once and then ignored or archived, rather than being properly removed.
This dramatically raises the danger of data loss during phishing cyberattacks since local files are exposed to viruses like trojans and ransomware.

In this case, you can securely store your data files on a cloud server protected by Archie, which will effectively encrypt them.

3. Regularly Backup Healthcare Data

Don’t underestimate the importance of backing up your data. It’s a crucial step that not only helps prevent data loss but also shields your information from potential disasters like hardware failures within your optometry practice. To effectively backup your data automatically, it’s recommended to use a HIPAA compliant software solution like Archie.

Here’s how to do backups correctly:

Automated backups
Set up automated backups so you won’t have to remember to perform them manually.

Offsite backups
Backups should be stored in a safe, remote location to defend against local calamities such as fires and floods. Cloud backups are an excellent choice here.

Backup tests
Regularly test your backups to ensure that you can recover the data if necessary. This helps to identify problems before they become serious.
Create a backup schedule that works for you, matching the frequency of backups with the amount of data you can afford to lose between them.

Why is Data Loss Prevention Crucial for Optometrists?

Here are the reasons why optometrists are taking data loss prevention seriously:

Cost savings
Investing in data protection measures is less expensive than risking a breach and paying significant fees.

Saving time
Many software solutions like Archie make deployment and administration easier, offering endpoint security and effective control over sensitive data from a single platform. Applying the solution also reduces the time spent controlling data leakage, which is clearly more efficient for healthcare businesses.

Enhancing brand image
When an institution can achieve legally necessary requirements, it builds confidence with current patients and makes a favorable impression with future ones.

Increasing data visibility
Archie is designed to protect certain categories of data by implementing pre-configured or tailored conditions. As a result, healthcare service providers get visibility into how their employees store, move, and use critical patient information.

Let Archie Protect Your Sensitive Patient Data

In today’s digital age, cyberattacks are unfortunately all too common, particularly within the healthcare sector. Optometrists are not exempt from these threats, as evidenced by the staggering number of over 400,000 patient healthcare records that affected eyecare service providers just last year.

Mitigating these threats requires professional assistance and thorough preventative procedures in order to establish a successful data loss prevention strategy. My Data Move’s team has experts with over 20 years of industry experience under their belts who will guide your optometry practice to confident data security.