Small Medical Practices (SMP) are still coming to terms with understanding security, though some medical practitioners hire compliance consultants or IT managers to handle the regulatory requirements them. Some don’t get what’s the big deal about security, and a few others are under the false impression that such measures are only necessary for the bigger players in the medical field. With almost zero in-house security expertise to guide and help them, most SMPs have an uphill task ahead for them as far as healthcare compliance measures are concerned. There are quite a few instances where SMP’s feel that as long as they have installed firewalls and put in antivirus, their work is done. But such miniscule measures are clearly not enough.
Some SMP’s realize that both HIPAA and HITECH regulations must be adhered to; the constant worry is on costs associated with complying as per these regulations and protecting information. So the answer lies not in ignoring healthcare regulatory compliance requirements but by dealing with them smartly. SMP’s need to comprehend that abiding as per the HIPAA compliance measures can actually protect their credibility and their image. They also need to understand with the right technology and controls in place, managing compliance and security are not cumbersome procedures. SMP’s should wisely invest in such automated technologies and solutions that can ably support compliance and governance easily. Also the solution should be inherently a solution that can be enforced easily, swiftly adapting to different security requirements. The idea is to get a solution that can align with your goals and also protect patient health information easily.
SMP’s need to perhaps, change their mindset a little, when it comes to spending on compliance measures; they need to think of this investment as a measure of protecting precious and confidential patient health information and as a measure of providing better quality healthcare to their patients. The solutions should also allow SMP’s to implement and enforce security policies correctly. SMP’s should also be prudent to opt for an automated compliance solution that is scalable and also be sophisticated enough to be able to monitor the security controls effectively. An ideal compliance solution should provide SMP’s with an integral framework that can guide medical professionals on how to respond to security threats and vulnerabilities in an efficient and consistent way.
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