Below is an excerpt of an article co-authored with Robinson+Cole Health Law Group lawyer Conor O. Duffy and published in Healthcare Facilities Today on March 31, 2021.
The need to update and implement new processes for delivering healthcare in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the adoption of more automation, remote access and monitoring technologies. It also has brought data analytics into treatment and the patient environment. Healthcare providers have shifted from traditional waiting rooms and in-person visits for routine needs to remote check-ins, check-ups and updates via personal health record applications.
Providers increasingly rely on smart grid technologies, cloud computing, medical devices and health monitors connected via the internet of things (IoT), bio-sensing wearables, touchless technology, telehealth, online scheduling applications, electronic health records, virtual and remote triages, AI-based predictive analytics and machine learning, and most recently, interactive floor-plan images used by regulatory inspectors.
These technologies and care-delivery approaches depend on seamless connected systems and instant access to data that create a recipe for cybervulnerability. Decades of HIPAA and extensive penalties for non-compliance ensure that healthcare organizations are cognizant of obligations to maintain the privacy of their patients’ personally identifiable information. Read the full article.