A large number of breaches of ePHI occur on portable devices. A large number of these occurred due to lost or stolen devices such as laptops, usb drives, ipads, tablets, or cell phones. While these devices are very convenient and make life easier, there can be major consequences when they fall into the wrong hands. Not only are security breaches very expensive to a practice, but they also can damage a practices reputation and hurt it’s patients.
The best way to ensure that a portable devices are protected against security breaches is to make sure that the ePHI is encrypted. If a portable device is lost or stolen but the data has been encrypted there is a minimal risk that the data can be accessed to be used in a malicious way. Encryption for portable devices can be done in a variety of ways. InfoTech Solutions can configure your devices to be encrypted to minimize the risk to your practice.
Please also be sure to consider the disposal of portable devices. It is important to make sure that all data has been removed from the device properly before disposal or reuse.
