State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information for the state of Baden-Württemberg, Stefan Brink, PhD., warned in a press release about the increasing number of data breaches in doctor’s offices. Particularly in the medical field, where sensitive and personal data was dealt with, technical and organisational measures were “an absolute must”, he said.
So it is high time for service providers in the medical field to look for solutions and secure their communication.
According to a press release of the State Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information for the state of Baden-Württemberg [German link], Stefan Brink, PhD., the number of reports on violations against the protection of personal data has increased tenfold. This showed that the duty to report such data breaches as implemented by the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) was observed, he continued, but the majority of said reports was caused by “negligence or a systemic flaw within the organisation”.
The use of email plays a major role here: Among the top 5 data protection violations, attacks by malware and trojans (that often find their victims via email) as well as sending emails to unintended recipients or sending them with open mailing lists can be found.
Such data breaches not only provide third parties access to valuable data, they can also result in significant financial penalties for the affected doctor’s offices. In one case where personal medical data was accidentally published, a fine of €80,000 was imposed.
In order to avoid such penalties and ensure the protection of sensitive patient data, enterprises in healthcare and doctor’s offices need to train their employees in matters regarding data protection and raise awareness for potential risks and dangers. At the same time, they have to review their internal processes and provide their staff with solutions for the secure and confidential handling of personal data in accordance with GDPR requirements, especially when it comes to transferring.
Cryptshare ensures the secure and encrypted transfer of patient data in a simple and auditable way. Numerous hospitals and health insurance companies already use Cryptshare successfully in their daily work. Whether it’s treatment data, diagnoses, billings, or CT scans – data can be sent with no file size limits and the sender receives a notification once the transfer has been downloaded. For using Cryptshare, no cost-intensive or time-consuming training is required, and with the integrations for Notes and MS Office, Cryptshare can be applied within a familiar work environment.
Various Associations of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians and Dentists across Europe offer Cryptshare with a central service that does not require any installation in the medical offices or on the recipient’s end. This concept can be adapted anytime for any other state or for individual medical offices.
Cryptshare.express is the SaaS solution for service providers in the medical field with up to 25 employees. Setup only takes a few moments and it is on demand, anytime and anywhere.
Contact us if you want to find out more on how to send your sensitive data securely and in compliance with GDPR.
