For organizations in the healthcare industry, handling protected health information, or PHI, properly means adhering to stringent regulations. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, requires that these organizations take the necessary precautions to protect patient data. Although providers may not think of it at first, printing, copying, scanning, and faxing are all included within these regulations. If print devices are left vulnerable, providers run the risk of data breaches, which can be detrimental in the healthcare setting. How can healthcare organizations ensure their print environments remain HIPAA compliant? Learn how managed print services can keep healthcare organizations HIPAA compliant, effectively safeguarding PHI.
Staying HIPAA Compliant with Managed Print Services
Managed print services, or MPS, provide healthcare organizations with a secure, efficient, and compliant way to manage their printing needs. Incorporating MPS into daily operations allows healthcare providers to protect patient information confidently while optimizing workflow efficiency and reducing costs. Explore the key ways MPS can help maintain HIPAA compliance below.
Secure, User-Authenticated Printing
One of the biggest risks in healthcare printing is unauthorized access to sensitive documents. A misplaced or unattended printout containing PHI can easily result in costly violations. MPS helps mitigate this risk by implementing secure printing solutions, such as:
- User Authentication: Staff must authenticate their identity using PIN codes, ID badges, or biometrics before documents are printed. This prevents unauthorized individuals from accessing confidential information.
- Secure Print Release: Also known as follow-me printing, this feature ensures that print jobs are only released when the authorized user is physically at the printer, reducing the chances of documents being left unattended.
- Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Limits printing permissions based on an employee’s role, ensuring only authorized personnel can print sensitive documents.
These security measures help healthcare organizations maintain compliance by preventing unauthorized individuals from gaining access to printed PHI.
Encryption and Data Protection
Printers and multifunction devices (MFDs) store and transmit sensitive data, making them potential targets for cyberattacks. MPS providers implement encryption and data protection measures to keep PHI secure. Explore the highlights below:
- End-to-End Encryption: Encrypts print data both in transit and at rest, ensuring that unauthorized parties cannot intercept sensitive information.
- Secure Hard Drive Management: Many printers store copies of printed, scanned, and faxed documents on their internal hard drives. MPS providers encrypt and regularly wipe these hard drives to prevent unauthorized data recovery.
- Data Overwrite Protection: Ensures that once a document is printed, scanned, or copied, the data is immediately and securely erased from the device’s memory.
Monitoring and Audit Trails
HIPAA regulations require healthcare organizations to keep detailed records of who accesses patient information. This includes printed documents, making audit trails and real-time monitoring a necessary component of maintaining compliance. Leveraging MPS monitoring capabilities allows healthcare organizations to maintain transparency and accountability while reducing the risk of compliance violations. MPS solutions provide:
- Comprehensive Print Audits: Logs every print job, including details on who printed it, when, and from which device.
- Real-Time Monitoring: Detects potential security risks, such as unauthorized printing of PHI or large-volume print jobs that could indicate data leaks.
- Automated Compliance Reporting: Generates reports that can be used for internal audits and regulatory inspections, helping organizations comprehensively demonstrate their adherence to HIPAA guidelines.
Device Security and Updates
Are you considering cybersecurity within your print fleet? Printers and MFDs are often overlooked when it comes to cybersecurity, but they are just as vulnerable to cyber threats as other devices on your network. MPS providers ensure device security through:
- Regular Firmware and Software Updates: Keeping devices updated with the latest security patches to prevent vulnerabilities.
- Secure Configuration Management: Ensuring default settings are changed, ports are disabled, and only authorized users can access the device’s administrative settings.
- Physical Security Measures: Restricting access to printers in public areas and ensuring that only authorized personnel can handle sensitive print jobs.
By securing devices at both the physical and digital levels, MPS helps prevent unauthorized access and potential data breaches.
Backup and Disaster Recovery
Despite the best efforts, even the most secure networks and print fleets face the risks of breaches or other disasters. In the event of a security breach or system failure, having a backup and disaster recovery plan in place is crucial for maintaining compliance and preventing data loss. MPS providers offer backup and disaster recovery solutions such as:
- Secure Cloud Backup: Ensures that digital copies of critical documents are safely stored and can be retrieved if needed.
- Redundant Systems: Prevents data loss by maintaining multiple copies of important documents in secure locations.
- Disaster Recovery Planning: Helps organizations develop a strategy for recovering lost or compromised data while ensuring compliance with HIPAA regulations.
Implementing a strong backup and disaster recovery plan allows healthcare organizations to ensure continuity of operations while protecting patient information.
Opt for HIPAA Compliant Solutions with Managed Print Services
Maintaining HIPAA compliance is a critical responsibility for healthcare organizations, and managed print services offer an effective solution to secure printed and digital patient information.
Looking for an MPS provider you can trust with these crucial functions? Choose GoodSuite, California’s premier provider of critical business systems for over 25 years. Our managed print and IT services deliver valuable solutions to organizations across countless industries, empowering them to stay secure and operate efficiently.
Request an assessment online or call us today to learn more about our services.
