Any medical establishment offering services to patients is bound to be compliant with guidelines as provided in HIPAA or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 as far as the medical records and information management is concerned. In the wake of electronic storage the software that are used to store online medical records and the databases have also got to be compliant with the HIPAA security standards.
The softwares are built using very strict security standards and are HIPAA compliant. These software packages are built using secured socket layers or SSL as it is known. This prohibits any unauthorized entry into the database from unknown users. Unless the person accessing the database is authorized he will not be able to store the data, modify or retrieve the data at all. There is also a system that logs in whenever users access the software and thus provides traceability.
The other feature that makes the software highly secure is the fact that the databases are encrypted. When the database is encrypted it means that the data and information stored there in has been converted into a unique code which cannot be deciphered by authorized persons.
The other security cover provided in the software is through access control using passwords. The system allows the administrator to set password for each user for a period of 30 days after which the system prompts for a new password to be created. This means if someone gets to know the password of an authorized user, he will not be able to use it.
If the software has to be HIPAA compliant, then it has to have session timeout options too. This means that when there is no activity on a particular system, the session expires and the data on the screen will not be available for any onlooker.
The timeout limit can be set by the administrator of the system depending upon where the system is located. If the system is in a private area where no authorized persons have entry then the session timeout can be kept for a longer period.
Thus the software are made hacker proof by using multi level security systems including access control, time out feature, and encryption of data as well as SSL. With these in place the patient’s data and medical records are safe and cannot be accessed by unauthorized persons.
Some of the highly advanced systems are programmed to shut down the minute an attempt is made by unauthorized persons. This apart, establishments also have physical security in place and ensure that access to the system is not easily available.
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