Study: 65% Of Doctors Share Patient Data Via Mobile Devices
A blog post by Becker’s Heath IT & CIO Review revealed that a study by mobile Security firm, Skycure found that 65% of physicians use mobile devices to share patient data:
- 70% used mobile devices to manage patient data and 74% use multiple devices to do so.
- Almost 3 out of 10 doctors store patient data in their mobile devices.
- Of those physicians using mobile to manage patient data, 41% were a medium security risk while 2% were classified as high-risk.
- 14% of mobile devices used to manage patient data were not password protected.
It is apparent that the Healthcare industry is behind the times in cyber security and the protection of confidential patient information. To be honest, I don’t understand it. All anyone has to do is listen to the news; one cannot go very long without hearing about a data breach.
Some physicians don’t even bother to password-protect their devices—the basic of all security measures! I’m also willing to bet that among those physicians that do password-protect their mobile devices, many don’t encrypt the data, making it extremely easy for hackers to access information from lost or stolen devices by simply hooking the mobile device up to a PC using a USB cable.
Maybe it’s time for patients to start asking their doctors about how they protect confidential information. No one can truly be 100% secure, but it is apparent that many don’t even try.
It’s time for everyone to take security seriously because contrary to popular belief—it can happen to you.
Joseph Imperato Sr. is the Managing Partner for XSolutions Consulting Services, a Managed Services Provider (MSP) delivering Computer Support, Business Continuity, Cloud Services, and IT Consulting to New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut businesses. Call us at (845) 362-9675 and see how we can help your company.
