In February 2024, Change healthcare was hit with a massive cyberattack in which 6 terabytes worth of data were stolen. This data included social security numbers and private patient healthcare information. Not only did this attack steal innocent patients’ private information, but it also affected payments to pharmacies and hospitals. The breech resulted in a 22-million-dollar ransom payout to return services to normal.
This hacking incident highlights the need for healthcare providers to protect PHI at all costs. One way to eliminate threats is by utilizing a secure messaging app through a HITRUST certified medical call center.
By partnering with an answering service that offer complete cybersecurity framework through HITRUST, patient health information will remain safe and secure, despite ever changing threats to IT systems. Features like 2-factor authentication, end-to-end encryption, and secure transmission protocols with your secure messaging app can avoid weaknesses in security. HIPAA-compliant messaging apps ensure that patient health information remains confidential, secure, and compliant with applicable regulations.
The most common encrypted apps used by call centers include MiSecureMessages, Halo (now Symplr), and TigerConnect (also known as TigerText). Most modern medical answering services provide software platforms that seamlessly integrate with these apps to deliver information directly from the patient to the healthcare provider with end-to-end encryption.
By utilizing a medical call center with these capabilities, especially one that is HITRUST certified, your patient data will remain secure and your liability from a possible attack will be considerably lowered.
