Most providers use mobile devices, but many don’t secure them

Healthcare providers are starting to get more use out of mobile devices to help them better care for patients – unfortunately, policies and procedures to protect health information on those devices haven’t kept up.

Nearly all healthcare providers have clinicians that access patient data on a mobile device, according to a recent survey conducted by HIMSS. However, 38% of them report that they don’t have a policy in place that regulates the use of mobile devices.

Mobile technology has a lot of benefits for patients and providers, but without the proper precautions, it can leave patients’ health data open to privacy violations.

A key part of protecting patient data when it goes mobile is creating a policy to stop risky behaviors on the part of employees.

When developing policies, organizations should consider:

1. What kinds of data, if any, should be prohibited from being stored on a mobile device
2. What technical controls, such as encryption, should be placed on a device before it’s used to hold patient data, and
3. How clinicians and other employees will able to use their own personal mobile devices inside the organization.