HIPAA - Technology is catching up!

HIPAA used to be a tricky area, but technology has actually caught up. The issue is more about generating awareness. For example, when it comes to sharing electronic records, there are some security measures that are more appropriate than others. With the data privacy compliance, state laws and federal standards craze occurring now, many believe that encryption will solve the world’s data theft problems. In reality, encrypted information is merely a puzzle that takes a little time to decode if it falls into the wrong hands. Additionally, it makes sharing necessary information difficult.

The easiest solution that many companies are starting to deploy is new technologies that render data useless if stolen, such as data masking which manipulates data so that it’s still useable to doctors and nurses, but unable to be tied back to the individual patient. In short, if data is stolen, masked data is useless to a thief because it is out of context with no way to utilize it outside of the environment. By using data making, companies do not have to disclose if there is a breach because the private data is unable to be used by thieves, therefore eliminating the risk to the patient. This absolutely makes the national electronic records database that the Obama administration is trying to launch very feasible and safe.