Working From Home?

Remote Work Requires Extra Security Precautions

As the healthcare community pivots to address the new guidelines around the Coronavirus Epidemic, many practices are sending some or all of their staff home, to work remotely where possible.

What does this mean?

• Increased security risk from compromised credentials and network connections.
• Increased risk of theft as employees take ipads, laptops, or thumb drives home.
• Increased risk of phishing attacks as hackers prey on under-trained employees who are unfamiliar with new workflows and procedures.

Additionally, enacting new procedures introduces a lot of stress to employees, especially when they are also dealing with the general stress of quarantine and possibly home-schooling children while they try to figure everything out.

It's up the the business owners and managers to provide calm leadership during this time.

We can start with making sure our employees have all the resources they need to work remotely, and that they have clear procedures to follow. This will cut down on stress AND security risks.

Next, we can work through our networks, hardware, and software to make sure everything is configured correctly to protect patient data.

Having a plan, communicating it pro-actively and effectively, and being honest with our employees, patients, and community, is all part of how we get through this time of flux.

You can sign up for a free remote-work assessment using the form to the right.

Below, you can find several resources for information and education on remote work and HIPAA requirements, including our work-from-home webinar.