Why Healthcare Providers Should Utilize Secure Digital Data Destruction Services?
In a short span of time, technology has had a profound impact on society. Everything from banking to healthcare has seen a complete paradigm shift. The innovations provided by technology have helped these organizations harness efficiencies that were previously unheard of and deliver services of unparalleled quality.
Of course, the reliance on technology is not without its own problems. A natural by-product of the heavy digitization that organizations have seen is data. Data isn’t inherently bad. In fact, it adds value wherever it is found.
However, data is also a risk. We’ve all seen the debate around data privacy rage on for several years now. Data security is important for any organization, but when it comes to healthcare providers, it is indispensable.
Let’s take a look at why this is the case and why healthcare providers should utilize secure digital data destruction services.
Sensitive Nature of Health Data
Look, almost any data associated with us is valuable. Privacy laws are increasingly recognizing this fact and working to ensure that confidential information is handled responsibly. Health data goes way beyond the importance of traditional sensitive data.
When you go to a healthcare provider, you want to receive the best care possible. To facilitate the provider, you provide lots of information that even your closest friends may not know. This information is often deeply personal. Naturally, you are volunteering this information to help the healthcare professional diagnose and solve a medical problem.
There is a great responsibility on healthcare providers to protect this data due to its sensitive nature. It cannot be understated how personal this information can be to people. Such information can even put patients in danger, which is why the healthcare industry is expected to maintain the highest standards for patient data security.
Legal Compliance
We’ve already spoken of the nature of health data. This is recognized universally, which is why several federal and state-level laws require healthcare providers to employ hard drive destruction services.
Information on a piece of paper is completely different from the information on a digital medium. This is why its destruction has to be managed with great diligence and care. Healthcare providers are required to maintain a record of patient data for a certain time and then destroy it. HIPAA also dictates strict guidelines over what kind of patient data needs to be stored and when it should be properly destroyed.
It is not optional to use data destruction for health services. They are legally required to destroy sensitive patient data after a certain period of time. Given the legal regulations surrounding healthcare data, healthcare providers must partner with the right data destruction services providers such as CompuCycle.
CompuCycle is one of the only data destruction services in the country with a dedicated processing plant that can handle IT asset disposal and data destruction of any kind.
Reputation Concerns
Considering how a minor slip-up in terms of data breaches can be ruinous for most companies and the fact that such strict laws dictate best practices, it is clear that a healthcare provider’s reputation can suffer if patient data is leaked.
By enlisting the help of secure hard drive shredding services like CompuCycle, healthcare providers can ensure that they are legally compliant with all regulations and protect their reputations.
A damaged reputation, especially if it arises out of data breaches, can hurt an organization’s revenues for years. This is why organizations should do whatever they can to hire secure data destruction services.
Final Word
We’ve seen why data destruction for health services is an important concern, but it is also important to partner with the right organizations. The smallest mistake in this process could end up damaging your reputation while landing you in legal trouble.
The best data destruction services have state-of-the-art processes and workflows that deliver maximum efficiency and guarantee compliance. CompuCycle is one such data destruction service; follow the link to learn more about our services and get a free consultation!
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