More than $25 billion has been lost due to cybercrime since 2015 — it’s a lucrative industry for criminals. One of the most valuable kinds of cybercrime is hacking into healthcare facilities. Stealing patient data can give hackers a whole lot of power over people.

With that power, they can demand payment and end up severely harming people who just wanted to get healthcare. There are requirements in place that healthcare facilities need to follow to protect their patients. But as technology gets more complex, so do the requirements.

Keep reading below to learn how cloud-based systems can help doctors protect their patients, while also protecting themselves.

Protecting Patient Data Builds Trust

Trust is fundamental to building a relationship with patients. Without trust, patients may not give healthcare workers a complete picture of what they’re feeling. They may be afraid of getting in trouble or may doubt their doctors’ ability to protect their information.

That is partially why lawmakers in the U.S. created the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA. The law places strict regulations on how medical facilities can handle patient data. It requires workers to be careful with who has access to information about patients.

With that law in place, patients can feel more comfortable sharing details about themselves and get complete treatment. The law also means facilities that mishandle patient data can face stiff penalties. Some can end up paying thousands of dollars per violation.

So, healthcare leaders need to be extra careful with patient data. It helps to have good accounting software to automate the security process.

Healthcare Facilities Have a Lot of Responsibilities

Health care facilities are some of the busiest places on the planet. Seconds count when it comes to trying to save people’s lives, and the stress can wear people down. As a result of that burnout, mistakes can be made.

Most workers do everything they can to make sure no harm comes to patients, placing even more stress on their shoulders. Once treatment is done, they may not give as much care to how patient data is filed. And that can lead to HIPAA violations.

But if patient data is handled by sophisticated software, healthcare facilities do not need to worry about staying compliant. Workers can simply type everything they need to fill out on a computer and submit it. The data can then be automatically be protected by advanced security systems.

If that software is cloud-based, facilities can feel confident that they are extra secure! When data is stored on a cloud, it means information about patients is not kept in a facility itself. It makes the software company responsible for protecting data, not the facility.

And that means workers face less stress and facilities are more likely to stay compliant with HIPAA!

Mental Health Care Workers Depend on Trust

Different fields of medicine require different kinds of expertise. It takes one kind of doctor to treat a broken bone, and another kind to treat a mind. The facilities those doctors work for need to follow different kinds of security requirements.

In 2021, it was revealed that a mental healthcare facility had been hacked and everything clients told their therapists was leaked online. The results were disastrous and clients who went to doctors for help ended up feeling more vulnerable than ever.

The story shows the importance of getting a cloud-based system to protect patient data. Without one, people can get hurt and all the work doctors do can be undone. It can also help therapists build transference with patients, helping them heal from trauma.

Cloud-Based CRM Software Automates HIPAA Compliance

Following HIPAA requirements can be tricky for facilities. In the old days, when patients’ files were filed in physical folders, it was enough to keep them locked away in a room. But now as technology evolves and patients demand easy access to their own data, facilities need to rethink security.

The best solution is to make sure patient information is never actually stored on site. That way, if a hacker tries to break into your facility’s networks, they won’t be able to access such sensitive information. Patient data will be far out of their reach on a cloud.

Facilities can also reach out to CRM software companies in person to identify when someone needs access to the system, such as a new employee. That level of human interaction actually provides a little more security. It helps the software company verify if a user legitimately needs access.

It can be easy to break into a facility’s networks, but it is much harder to trick someone trained to identify hackers. And by working with a software company, all the security requirements to encrypt and shield patient data are automatically done.

Giving Cybersecurity Tips Only Does So Much

One of the ways many companies try to boost their cybersecurity is by training employees on common hacking techniques. They show workers how to identify phishing techniques and to stay safe online. This kind of training can be incredibly helpful for employees unfamiliar with new technology.

However, the training can also only go so far. All it takes is one employee who doesn’t listen for a hacker to break into a network. That one employee can accidentally give hackers a password, or sensitive information about the company.

Once that happens, everyone can be at risk. So while it is a good practice to train employees on how to stay safe, it is better to protect patient data before in other ways too.

Track Who Accesses Patient Data And When

One of the best reasons to use cloud-based CRM software is the ability to track who accesses specific data. Most modern systems log whenever an account views a specific file or tries to access sections of data. If cybersecurity experts identify a threat, they can use these logs to tell if an individual is at risk.

It’s a way to mitigate possible fallout from a cybersecurity attack. It also helps security quickly identify if someone is trying to hack into a system. By identifying suspicious activity on user logs, they can take quick action to prevent an attack from spreading.

All Healthcare Facilities Should Use Cloud-Based Software

The job of all healthcare facilities is to help treat people; doctors are there to give care to people who need it. They just happen to handle sensitive patient data as part of the process. Using cloud-based CRM software protects everybody involved in the healthcare process.

It protects facilities by ensuring they are automatically compliant with HIPAA requirements, saving them thousands in violation fees. It protects doctors by ensuring their patients trust them enough to do their jobs. And it protects patients most of all, giving them the confidence to seek treatment.

Of course, every facility is also unique. Everyone has specific needs they need from their CRM software. To see how ours can help you, just click here to arrange a demonstration.