Health data is one of the most popular types of personal information that hackers are seeking these days according to an article form Pimsy, an EHR and practice management for mental/behavioral health. Due to the nature of the data being impeccably documented and detailed, hacking and collecting personal health information (PHI) can reveal much more than just bank or credit card data can and becomes a major target for hackers.
“Half of all data breaches now occur in healthcare,” the article quotes, “Attacks by hackers on healthcare providers have increased more than 100% since 2010. The FBI warns that health data is highly valued by criminals but healthcare lags badly behind other sectors.”
These hackers are typically criminals from large groups that are attempting to steal personal information in order to sell on the black market. When and if the data is stolen and purchased, the identities of those individuals can then be impersonated in order to access other kinds of personal information such as financial and banking accounts.
Given all of these circumstances surrounding the current trend of digital hacking we’ve seen occur, it is imperative to keep data encrypted and HIPAA compliant in order to protect your client’s stored PHI. This is not only good practice in our current digital world but will also mean that taking the steps needed to ensure the PHI is being protected will give you and your clients a peace of mind.
If you’re a Medical or Mental Health professional interested in seeing patients online click below on the “want patients” button to and fill out the form. OR if you are an organization that has patients that want to be seen via Telemed click on the “Have Patients” button and a representative will get in contact shortly!