HITEQ Health Center Cybersecurity Defender Against the Dark Web

Health Centers are being inundated by an unprecedented surge in cybersecurity incidents that are having detrimental effects on healthcare worldwide. New, sophisticated threats seem to appear on a daily basis. Most importantly, these threats are primarily being targeted and spread through end users (vs health IT systems) through social engineering and phishing attack methods. 

Healthcare cybersecurity is the ultimate team sport. The responsibility goes beyond the IT staff and includes front and back office staff, doctors and nurses, patients, executives, and the board of directors. These resources are directed at all levels of the healthcare organization so that they may be proactive and aware and help to defend Health Centers against the Dark Web.

Take some time to read through some of the articles on this page and then fill out the submission form on the right and you will be rewarded with a Health Center Defender Against the Dark Web badge! This is an official badge that is submitted by the HITEQ Center as a proof of completion to the blockchain. Your credentials can be added to profiles such as LinkedIn and verified through accreditation services such as Accredible and Open Badge.

 

Sensitive Information and the Electronic Patient Record

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Sensitive Information and the Electronic Patient Record

HITEQ Center, June 2023

With nearly 100% of community health centers utilizing electronic health records (EHR) to care for patients, focus has pivoted from implementation and new workflow development to enhancement in order to drive value and reflect patient needs and population trends. EHR technology presents potential opportunities and significant constraints. Providers frequently document and share potentially sensitive information in the EHR, such as risk for intimate partner violence (IPV), consistent offers of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), or patient sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI). Capturing such information can be immensely helpful in providing care tailored to individuals’ needs, but additionally challenges teams to develop workflows that keep the data private rather than risk harm to patients through improper or unintended disclosure.

This brief resource describes the risks and benefits of differing strategies to capture and steward sensitive information while emphasizing privacy and accessibility. These examples are shared to facilitate health center teams in developing workflows that are most appropriate for their settings and patient populations.

Download the resource in the Documents to Download Section below.

Documents to download

Health Center Defender Against the Dark Web Badge Confirmation