Enterprise Mobility
How to Build a Secure MDM Solution for Healthcare?
The introduction of smartphones
has brought a huge transformation in the industries working around us. If we
talk about the healthcare sector, though this transformation is a bit slower but
prominent and is now slowly pacing up. As per a recent survey by HIMS, almost 70 percent of clinicians now
use a mobile device to view patient information, and 36 percent use one to
collect bedside data. It helps in communicating with other team
members and to retrieve the necessary data related to patients, which leads to
saving lives. MDM
solution has made it easier to take care of the patients whenever and
wherever it is required.
Mobile devices have enhanced the
communication between the doctors and patients, thus helped in improving
diagnostic accuracy. Previous when healthcare was dependent on stationary
objects like paper, files, and folders, there was a high risk involved regarding
the data getting misplaced. Mobile technology has made the complexity clear by
providing a continuous data flow option in between the service provider and
patients. This has saved a lot of time for the physicians as they do not have
to spend their time in data entry and other administrative tasks. Having
patient’s information at fingertips helps doctors to save time and ensure
better patient care. Due to these smartphones EHRs, clinical decision support
systems (CDSS), and picture archiving communication systems (PACS) are always
available at the point of care.
The selection of efficient enterprise
mobility management solution is equally important as this combination of
mobile technology and sensitive data is troubling for security experts,
especially where “bring your own device” (BYOD) policies are involved.
According to a leading report, around 35% of healthcare organizations suffered
a data loss due to a security incident with a mobile device. Hence, it is
important for the hospital IT team to ensure efficient device management.
Mobile Device Management (MDM) System
The inherent risks of a “bring
your device” (BYOD) policy have given rise to the mobile device management
(MDM) system, which is majorly used to enjoy the versatility and efficiency of
mobile devices without putting the data at risk. MDM software allows IT to
control and secure mobile devices and keeps your business data protected.
According to Novell, a laptop or tablet is stolen every 53 seconds, and 113
cell phones are lost or stolen every minute.
MDM can remotely lock or wipe the
data in case of mobile devices being stolen or lost. The healthcare sector is a
desirable sector for hackers as it contains the most sensitive patient data.
More than 41 million health records were stolen or leaked during 2019. Hence,
it is also recommended by the US Department of Health and Human Services in
their HHS Policy for Mobile Devices and Removable Media to implement an MDM
solution.
Also Read: Key
Healthcare Areas where Smart IT Solutions can Make a Difference
Best Practices for Building an MDM solution for healthcare
There are few practices which
most people follow must follow to build an effective MDM healthcare
solution.
Multi-factor authentication
Multi-factor authentication
ensures that you know everything about the person who has logged in your system
by providing an access control tool that uses a combination of two out of three
factors to authenticate a user. This makes hackers harder to get into customer
accounts with a password alone.
Device identification
Device identification helps
ensure the device has not been modified and allow you to track individual
devices, firmware version, operating system, and patch level.
Blocking of unnecessary connections
Open ports may lead hackers to
exploit the devices. Hence ensure the Bluetooth, infrared ports, GPS, and
microphones are turned off, if not in use. Be careful while connecting your
device to another via Bluetooth or screen sharing and forbid connecting to
untrusted devices.
Internal application storage
The access to delete, edit, or
add new data to the apps should be given to the authorized administrators only.
There should be a single trusted resource where employees can access these
apps, and this is how you can safely handle your internal apps.
Local encryption
Local encryption offers an
additional layer of protection, and even if a hacker uses an advanced method to
bypass your password, he or she cannot access the locally encrypted files.
Containerization
Containerization helps in running applications in isolated user space. An effective MDM solution must remotely sanitize this container without impacting the personal information.
Also Read: 2020 Advancements: How the Internet of Things Is Fostering Healthcare Sector?
Data transfer limits
This restricts the downloading of data from untrusted servers. This limitation helps in preventing employees to accidentally open ransomware files to the wrong person.
Data sanitization
An MDM solution should equip with
tools that allow removing or destroying the data so that when a company needs
to dispose of the data, it will be automatically done.
Remote device management
An MDM solution should be effective to control the devices inside and outside of a corporate network. As the key reason for mobile devices in any corporate is mobility.
Data backup
An MDM solution should be effective enough to automatically backup the data. As per the organization’s cyber policy, the data should be backed up. You can opt for any cloud computing solutions to keep your data stored safely.
Software update management
It is important to keep the
software up-to-date by applying all patches for data protection. An MDM
solution should allow you to control the device centrally and audit updates as
per the system policy.
Support for multiple platforms
An MDM solution should support
all the platforms as the BYOD policy allows the employees to use any device
while at the workplace.
Conclusion
The healthcare sector has
experienced a lot of transformations in the recent times. With digitization,
entrepreneurs also moved to smart healthcare software
development solutions and mobile device management solutions are
just one of them. MDM solution has not only enhanced the patient experience but
has also reduced the stress of doctors and nurses by enhancing the overall
quality and speed of medical services. It helps keep the data breach at bay and
has increased user productivity and cost reduction.
The rising trend in the adoption
of enterprise mobility solutions resulted in improved patient care and a better
experience and this is the main reason why the demand for enterprise
mobility services is rising tremendously. MDM has automated most of the
process like with the Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system doctors can track
and record the health metrics of their patients. Patients can receive the
electronic copy of their report while requested. BYOD policy can be implemented
safely with the help of MDM solutions. With a better understanding of the risks
and the right technology, businesses need to select a solution that builds a
strong healthcare mobile device strategy.
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