How Cloud-Based Solutions Might Mitigate EMR Security Risks
The protected health information contained in an EMR is valuable to patients, providers, and threat actors alike, but cloud-based solutions may reduce risk.
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By Jill McKeon
- Electronic medical records (EMRs) and electronic health records (EHRs) are essential tools that allow the electronic storage and maintenance of patient records using in-house systems or, increasingly, using cloud-based solutions.
While EMRs and EHRs enable interoperability and care coordination, they are also prime targets for healthcare cyberattacks. User errors, design flaws, and vulnerabilities can transform EMRs from a helpful tool into a security risk.
Salwa Rafee, global managing director for healthcare security at Accenture Security, suggested that organizations mitigate EMR security risks by implementing a well-defined, enterprise-wide security strategy.
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That security strategy may involve cloud-based EMR solutions rather than traditional in-house EMR systems.
"Maintaining EMRs in-house has been a tremendous effort. At the end of the day, this is not the core business of hospitals. They want to focus on patient care, and they don't want to be bothered with IT security infrastructure issues," Rafee noted.
"Moving everything to the cloud is a great solution. I predict that we will see more of this migration as we progress through the year."
HHS's Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center (HC3) recently issued a brief warning to healthcare organizations about EMR security risks. Specifically, HC3 noted an increase in phishing and ransomware attacks targeting EMRs.
Rafee recommended that organizations employ select technical and administrative safeguards to mitigate risk.
"Having the strategy is a mandate from day one," Rafee emphasized.
"And from that, we can draw a master roadmap that would converge with our vision as an organization: how we see ourselves in the next two years, and the next ten years, and how that would converge with the technology, security, and the right apps and EMR systems."
