Johannesburg, 14 Nov 2022
- Altron HealthTech’s EHR platform, HealthONE, keeps your patients’ information safe and secure, preventing data loss and tampering.
- This added layer of security is targeted at medical professionals concerned about data safety and integrity.
- HealthONE boasts three layers of encryption, helping healthcare professionals store sensitive information safely and securely to bring you peace of mind.
Doctor-patient confidentiality has been a cornerstone of medicine for as long as the profession has existed. And while the sanctity of this agreement has remained solid over the years, what’s changed significantly is how this agreement is upheld in the context of fast-evolving technological advances.
With this in mind, and for security reasons alone, it’s becoming increasingly important for medical professionals to embrace cloud-based technology.
What is encryption?
In the context of data safety and security, illicit access to personal patient information can be used for several nefarious reasons, such as identity theft, blackmail or unsolicited targeted marketing.
To combat this, Altron HealthTech’s intuitive EHR solutions platform, HealthONE, deploys the most sophisticated encryption technology to ensure data privacy.
But what is encryption, exactly? Gartner partner Cloudflare describes it as a method of “scrambling data” to ensure that only authorised individuals have the key to encode secure information. In other words, encryption converts readable plaintext to gibberish for anyone other than authorised users who have the key to access that data through privileged user access.
Added layer of protection
Up until recently, electronic health records traditionally deployed two layers of encryption to protect personal health records in the cloud. HealthONE takes this a step further by deploying three layers of encryption, implemented at different points of vulnerability to mitigate specific attack vectors (ie, the paths hackers use to break into a previously secure IT system).
Moreover, the team behind HealthONE’s encryption technology regularly performs proactive testing on the encryption architecture, which prevents any data breaches that may occur in future.
How does encryption prevent hacking?
When information is in transit, whether it’s uploaded for storage or being sent from one individual to another, it travels via an encrypted channel that cannot be unscrambled unless you have authorised access to that information.
This prevents an unwelcome “middleman” from accessing sensitive information or being able to manipulate the data as it is transmitted.
Similarly, private information and patient data is stored in the cloud in an encrypted format, preventing anyone with malicious intent from gaining access to that data. Again, the right level of encryption ensures only authorised individuals can access a database of storage files.
Safe but collaborative patient care
In the context of medical practice, the HealthONE platform allows you to tailor accessibility to information on the HealthONE platform, depending on each individual’s role. This offers secure access to individuals based on user privilege, which means that only authorised users can access need-to-know information.
Your admin staff, for instance, do not need access to a patient’s personal health record. Rather, that information can be shared with a patient’s team of specialists, as long as they’re provided access.
HealthONE ensures that privileged physicians always have elevated access to a patient’s full record of information. It also enables privileged users to carefully configure what information can be accessed and by whom. Therefore, those with primary access to a patient’s full record of information could include only the most relevant and necessary patient information when you bring another specialist on board a treatment plan, or when you refer that patient to another clinician.
This allows for safe, collaborative patient treatment, ensuring quick continuity of care with a speedy response time in a secure setting. This is especially crucial in time-sensitive settings and could be life-saving for the patient.
Meanwhile, HealthONE’s functionality makes it possible for admin, auxiliary or operational staff to access only the information that is pertinent to their role in the organisation, such as billing details and appointment scheduling. At a field level, this prevents data leaks via admin tools or through more traditional methods, like shoulder surfing, which can do a lot of damage once security is breached and private information is leaked.
Best-in-practice security
For Altron HealthTech, optimised data security is twofold. Firstly, it will always employ the highest level of data encryption. In the case of HealthONE’s current functionality, this involves three layers of encryption, offering users the highest level of data security. Secondly, optimised data security leverages user privilege, entrusting the right people with only the information they need to know, which cultivates a culture of patient-centred care.
This functionality ensures that all HealthONE users are POPIA-compliant and that they align with HPCSA regulations. More than that, it ensures that medical professionals uphold their Hippocratic Oath to respect the privacy of all patients, especially in the context of the digital age.
Read this for more on HealthONE’s smart and intuitive functionality. Or contact our sales team directly to try our solution first-hand.
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