Every year at this time, dental professionals have discussions with their accountants and/or business partners about what they might invest in prior to year-end to limit their tax liability.
These investments typically range from better diagnostic tools (e.g., digital pans, IO cameras, sensors, 3D imaging) to better hardware (e.g., servers, computers). While these are still great solutions to invest in, many offices purchased these tools in recent years and are happy with their diagnostic and case presentation workflows.
However, two topics that dominate today’s headlines — Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act compliance and data breaches — means this year just might be the perfect time to invest in protecting your most important asset, your patient data.
Investing just a small amount in a few solutions will pay HUGE dividends to you and your practice.
Two simple things you can do to help protect data in your practice and to adhere to HIPAA rules regarding safeguarding and protection of patient information are to implement online (cloud) data backup and secure email.
Both online backup and secure email help to ensure your practice data is protected (encrypted) while in transit and at rest, providing a layer of security that is essential to protecting your practice information. In addition to the security benefits, both solutions actually streamline your practice workflow and play an essential role in helping ensure your practice is on the right path to HIPAA compliance.
Professional Services – a for-profit division of the Wisconsin Dental Association – has staff and information to help with questions about online backup and secure email. Please call 800-243-4675 or visit www.dentalrecord.com for more information.
