Physicians Practice - Tech Guide 2008 - (Page 19)

36th pops up, you know your network’s been compromised. Sprague likens the technology to that used in cell phones: “Your cell phone is secured on [the carrier’s] network because it has a little secret in the hardware in the phone that I can’t steal,” he explains. “Therefore, I can’t bill phone calls to your account because I can’t get your secret code out of your phone because the hardware is extremely hard to break. There are billions of phones out there, so this is a pretty well-understood technology.” Currently, Sprague says, TPMmodel computers are available on most commercial PCs and laptops. He estimates that it’ll probably be another year until the technology trickles down to consumer machines. So he strongly recommends that practices purchase commercial-model computers for their ofﬁces. BEST PRACTICES you are not there; and, if you are in a larger commercial building, talk to your landlord about their after-hours security to ensure you are comfortable with the protection provided. If you can’t afford fancy new antitheft hardware and software solutions, look into lower-cost options that can add new layers of protection to the equipment you already possess. Keep a watchful eye on all of your paperbased and electronic assets that contain patient information, but remember that laptops in particular have proven to be the Achilles heel of many data theft victims. “The data on your laptop is a controlled substance,” says Sprague. “Treat it as such. Is it under lock and key, and how can you be sure?” • Barbara A. Gabriel is the associate editor of Physicians Practice. She has served as editor and writer for numerous healthcare publications over the past 10 years. Barbara can be reached via editor@physicianspractice.com. Since protecting your patient data is your responsibility, it’s ultimately up to you to inventory your capabilities, your budget, and your manpower to decide how you will put into place your own protocols to ensure peace of mind. Yes, you’ll want to equip yourself with the appropriate software and hardware to secure your data. But establishing best practices for your ofﬁce, educating your staff about them, and enforcing a “no tolerance” policy may be the most effective steps you can take. Give your staff unique user IDs and passwords and regularly change them; enable “unlocking” functions on other portable computers, such as Blackberries, that require the user to enter a unique PIN to gain access; regularly audit your electronic assets to ensure they are accounted for and in the right hands; regularly upgrade your antivirus software. Establish a “shutting down” protocol when you close your clinic each night; do not give your employees unauthorized permission to remove any hardware from your ofﬁce; take measures to lock down your ofﬁce when WWW.PHYSICIANSPRACTICE.COM TECHNOLOGY GUIDE | PHYSICIANS PRACTICE | 19 http://www.digichart.com http://www.digichart.com http://WWW.PHYSICIANSPRACTICE.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Physicians Practice - Tech Guide 2008

Physicians Practice - Tech Guide 2008 TG Cover Story: Protect Your Practice and Sleep Better Operations: Paperless? Not Quite The Internet: You've Got Mail...Or Do You? Patient Relations: Attention Grabbers The Tech Doctor: All About Blogs Lessons Learned: 'My EMR Nightmare...And Why I'd Do It Again' Scheduling: No More No-Shows The Marketplace: Who's Got Your Back IT Enhancement: Time, at Last, for an Upgrade? Online: 'Yup, I'm a Junkie. And Proud of It.' In the Office: New Technologies in the Workplace: Blessing or Curse? Web Surfing: If You Build It...

Physicians Practice - Tech Guide 2008

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