Over the past few years, medical records and data has swiftly moved from hanging files and folders and the written record, to a completely streamlines and digital way of storing and reading data. This type of technology has been paramount in making sure medical records are kept efficiently and not lost. By interconnecting doctors and practices, doctors can easily treat patients as never before, because of digital standards. However, with the HIPAA act which protects everyone’s medical and data and privacy, there is a conundrum. There is not always an easy answer to protecting HIPAA information within a cloud, but it is possible. Because cloud storage is the most efficient and optimal way to store data, we need to explore how best to accomplish cloud storage of medical records without compromising patients’ personal information.
There are several steps to accomplish this, and we will concentrate this article on the first step. Electronic and protected health care information is referred to within the medical community as PHI, and the best thing to do is to begin to inventory this digital information. HIPAA has no regulations on how to store electronic medical data, only that it must be compliant with privacy. To inventory a PHI, many questions must be asked. These important questions include assessing the age of the data, knowing whether this data is sent to an external third party, noting the physical location of the cloud, and asking if the data interfaces with other systems. The best thing to do is create a complete checklist of how this medical data may come in contact with a third party, and go from there. There isn’t a clear way to a viable solution without knowing how data may be compromised.
These kinds of tasks can be tough on any type of business, especially a medical practice. That is why Biztek Solutions, Inc. is here to help with inventory of PHI, data, and overall cloud storage and protection. To find out more about how we can help with protecting HIPAA information within a cloud, call us today at (800)353-5430 so we can help turn your problems into solutions.