As health care organizations are becoming more dependent on digital systems to store patient information, the risk of cybersecurity is escalating. Therefore, a trend of “standard of care” has emerged that requires the attention of healthcare leaders. Standard of care emphasizes reasonable over customary. In other words, doing what is reasonable might be more important than what is usually done.
There are three sources that healthcare providers may rely on to articulate standard of care: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which established national standards for the use and disclosure of individuals’ health information; Office of Civil Rights (OCR), which contains guidance related to cyber risk management; and Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST), which provides a collaborative process to develop a cybersecurity framework.
As a healthcare provider, the primary goal should be to apply the standard of care and adopt sources such as HIPAA, OCR, or NIST to conduct day-to-day business with confidence and avoid any claims of negligence.
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