Cybersecurity Considerations for Telehealth

Though we are on the other side of it now, the Coronavirus pandemic has forever changed the landscape for so many areas of our lives. One of the top industries which experienced a major shift post-COVID is the industry which dealt with the brunt of the struggles that came along with the virus itself – the world of healthcare. One such shift for this industry that has been quite a big deal is telehealth. Telehelath, or virtual healthcare, grew in popularity when the world was locked down and has since continued to grow. This version of healthcare is attractive to many different groups of individuals, from those who do not wish to risk going to the doctor’s office, which is a notoriously germy place, to those who prefer the convenience of such a visit for things like less-than-serious ailments and routine checkups. 

The ability to contact real, qualified medical professionals from the privacy and comfort of your own home likely has many of us feeling a little bit more at ease compared to the days of only being able to “WebMD” any and all unique symptoms that we had which, more often than not, were likely not so serious (though frequently met with some rather scary search results!). This increase in accessibility has been a major resource to so many. In order to protect this asset, there are some cybersecurity considerations that must be factored into these alternative doctor-patient setups to keep all key players safe. 

Security as a Priority for all Parties — A secure connection is key for virtual meetings to work well. In the case of telehealth, the appointments need to be conducted via a secure meeting software. Additionally, the doctors or providers need to be sure to use a secure device on a network protected by a firewall. The patient in turn needs to be sure to protect themselves by using secure networks to connect to their appointment sessions. 

Data encryption — For the personally identifiable information (PII) of patients to be protected, the encryption of data is key. One of the reasons that the healthcare industry is such a highly targeted area is because of the nature of the data that these entities collect. It is important to protect this data from malicious actors not only by hospitals using strong firewalls and patients using secure connections, but by the IT Teams for the healthcare companies going a step further and encrypting the data. This adds a much needed layer of protection in the event a malicious actor gets through a firewall. 

Device security — Some providers have provided their patients with at-home tools to make the virtual appointments more effective. For example, a doctor may provide a patient with an Internet-connected breathing monitor so that that information can be collected and returned to the doctor in real time. Be sure that these devices are secure by following proper IoT device security hygiene so that the data collected via these means is secure from attackers. 

In order for telehealth to continue to be a quality resource for providers and patients, cybersecurity has to be a priority.  

Image by Freepik.

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