Within the healthcare industry, outsourcing business processes, commonly called BPO or business process outsourcing, has become increasingly common. It offers healthcare companies a way to streamline business operations, making them more efficient and cost-effective. Because of this prolific implementation, data security in BPO is essential.
To have a clear understanding of BPO, business process outsourcing involves delegating specific tasks to contractors specializing in that process or operation. Often, BPO includes functions like payroll and accounting, human resources, and even customer support. In healthcare, this could include anything from medical billing and coding to electronic health records maintenance.
Many outsourced tasks and integral operations involve information subject to governmental rules and regulations, like HIPAA. Because of the sensitive nature of the data involved in healthcare operations, from patient healthcare information to financial information, maintaining data security is crucial—not only for the patients but also for compliance with government and industry regulations and, ultimately, the business’s success.
Common Threats to Data Security in BPO
With constant threats to security, healthcare organizations need to stay on top of data security in BPO. Because data is stored in the cloud, it is unfortunately vulnerable to hackers. When a hacker accesses private data, it can cause immense harm to the facility and to the individual patients. If a facility loses control over sensitive information, recovering from that loss of power would be time-consuming and costly.
Not only would the facility face a slew of lawsuits and a negative reputation, but it could also face insurmountable fines and damages. Its credibility would take a hit, impacting its survivability, and it would also likely see governmental penalties if it is found to violate healthcare regulations like HIPAA. Failing to comply, whether by negligence or from a data security breach, can result in significant fines
For the patients, it could impact a person in a somewhat mundane manner with their information simply being accessed by someone without authority. Conversely, it could spell disaster if their identity is stolen or finances are impacted. Data security is no joke.
One of the more well-known data security failures was the 2015 Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance data breach. This breach set the wheels in motion for many changes in data security and highlighted how big a problem it could be. No business would want to be in Anthem’s shoes.
Why Data is Vulnerable?
When a business outsources its core functions, they have to share sensitive data, including personal, financial, and health record data, with third-party vendors—at its core, that’s simply what BPO is. Consider what would happen if a payroll account is breached — not only would hackers gain access to the person’s identity, but they would also be able to access bank account information, social security,
Unfortunately, healthcare data is especially vulnerable to data breaches as it offers nefarious individuals a goldmine of information from identities and creates significant opportunities for fraud and major financial loss for those whose information was breached. As mentioned, the company also faces substantial reputational damage and legal implications.
Data security in BPO is so essential in today’s world because cyberattacks are becoming more sophisticated, more frequent, and more severe. With the advent of AI, they’re also becoming more prolific.
While it might sound like BPO would be a poor choice due to the risk, it couldn’t be farther from the truth because there are ways to stay secure. Healthcare organizations can have a beneficial relationship with their BPO.
How to Protect Data Security?
Without getting into the nuanced details of data security, healthcare organizations can follow some best practices to promote the security of their business and data. These best practices include being selective about vendors, using the right technology, and staying in compliance.
1. Choose the Right Vendor
The first and most important consideration and best practice is being selective about vendors! Choosing business process outsourcing vendors with a strong security track record, with regular and consistent security audits (conducted by third parties), with security certifications and who continue to advance their cybersecurity knowledge in an ever-changing world is the gold standard. Sacrificing expenses for any of those qualities could result in a vulnerability. Get data protection agreements in writing so that there is no question about the level of security they provide.
2. Technology to Enhance Data Security
Additionally, healthcare organizations should implement strict data access controls so that no one, not even within the company, who does not have the correct credentials can access data that they shouldn’t. Monitoring this consistently can provide alerts to potential attacks and show where security may need to be added. Data security in BPO must utilize technology.
Finally, the technology needs to be there. In addition to data access controls, secure communication channels like VPNs and encrypted, secure data transfers need to be in place. Firewalls can also enhance data security, creating an extra layer of protection.
3. Staying in Compliance
With healthcare being subject to several regulations, staying in compliance is one way to help secure data. Most of the policies were enacted to protect personal data. For the healthcare industry, some of these regulations include HIPAA GDPR, and CCPA. Staying strictly and uncompromisingly compliant is one way they can improve data security in BPO.
Anyone in the industry will know that regulations change, sometimes as often as administrations do. Staying in compliance can be challenging as changes to regulations are commonly proposed, especially in response to changes in technology. Choosing the right vendors can help an organization not only stay in compliance but also keep its data secure.
Get Unmatched Data Security with BPO Service
Interested in learning more about what BPO services Credence Global Solutions has to offer? Reach out to talk with a member of our team today!
