Health Information Management

Securing email and file transfers

HIM-HIPAA Insider, May 19, 2014

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Despite gains in compliance and security potentially linked to industry emphasis on the HIPAA Omnibus Rule, some dangerous gaps remain regarding corporate email and file transfer habits.
 
The results come from the second annual survey by DataMotion, "Secure Email and File Transfer Corporate Practices 2013 Survey Results," released in January. The study also found a far-reaching communications disconnect between IT management and non-IT employees about security and compliance policies. Further, it revealed that a disturbing percentage of IT management professionals take compliance risks, including turning off essential capabilities due to technology issues.
 
The survey also included information about data security outside of the healthcare industry. However, where data security in the healthcare environment is concerned, DataMotion found:
  • When separated out from other industries in the survey, healthcare often showed above-average progress in protecting email and file transfers.
  • When asked if their company has security and compliance policies for transferring files electronically, 90.4% of healthcare industry respondents said "yes."
  • When asked if employees/coworkers have the capability to encrypt email, healthcare professionals were again ahead of the curve, with 84.8% saying "yes."
Continue reading "Securing email and file transfers" on the HCPro website. Subscribers to Briefings on HIPAAhave free access to this article in the May issue.



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