The following is a guest article by Boris Dzhingarov.
In today’s technologically advanced world, the healthcare system is also undergoing a rapid digital transformation, especially in regard to data storage and protection. Hospital records contain sensitive data, including diagnostic details and sensitive personal health information. This information must be protected to avoid any legal implications and ensure compliance with privacy regulatory laws, like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is a cloud computing platform that allows you to process, store, and manage all healthcare data. It provides security for all healthcare data stored on the cloud and maintains operative efficiency in accordance with HIPAA and other compliance standards. To implement AWS security best practices, you must understand how the platform allows for enhanced security. Let’s discuss the topic in detail.
What is HIPAA?
HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) is an integral part of U.S. healthcare legislation. It is a set of regulations that establish the privacy and security of all healthcare information by maintaining confidentiality, integrity, and the availability of all such data. It grants individuals certain entitlements related to their medical data, including the ability to view their records and manage who can access their information.
According to HIPAA, safeguards like access controls, encryption, and regular risk assessments should be implemented to protect ePHI (electronic Protected Health Information). HIPAA is enforced by the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Adherence to HIPAA regulations is a compulsion for healthcare providers and health plans responsible for patient data. This is crucial to ensure the confidentiality and reliability of health information and to prevent legal repercussions and fines stemming from non-compliance.
How AWS Enables Privacy and Data Protection
AWS complies with regulations like the HIPAA to protect sensitive patient information through the following practices:
Data Encryption
AWS services like Amazon S3 and AWS EBS provide data encryption at rest even when your physical storage devices are not functioning. Data encryption can also be implemented for data transmitted between your applications and AWS services by the Transport Layer Security (TLS).
Access Control
The AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) can implement fine-grained access controls that regulate who can access specific resources. You can also utilize AWS Cognito to handle user authentication and authorization in applications, ensuring authorized users can securely access the system.
Audit and Monitoring
You can track and monitor suspicious activities or changes by logging all AWS API activities through AWS CloudTrail. You can also use Amazon CloudWatch to set up custom notifications and alarms in case of any incident or breach of security.
Network Security
You can protect your applications from web exploits by using AWS Web Application Firewall (WAF). Additionally, the AWS Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) can be programmed with network security rules using Security Groups and Network ACLs.
Patch Management
You must regularly address all known weaknesses by updating and patching the operating systems and software. You can make this process easier by automating patch management using the AWS systems manager.
Secure Development and Backup Practices
You can make disaster recovery plans and automate your backups using the AWS backup to avoid inconvenience due to unexpected events. Ensure secure coding by automating software development with the AWS CodePipeline and AWS CodeBuild.
It’s essential to conduct security testing of your system regularly. Collaborate with third-party security audit experts to detect any vulnerabilities and thorough assessments of your AWS infrastructure.
Data Anonymization
To limit exposure to sensitive patient data and restrict access to only authorized personnel, you can deploy data masking and anonymization techniques like data scrambling, pseudonymization, and noise injection. You can use the AWS data masking service for this.
Additionally, you can use the tokenization technique to replace sensitive data with tokens or a de-identification method to remove identifiers like names to generalize the data and eliminate the risk of re-identification
Endnote
Securing healthcare data is a complex task that involves considering various factors, including technical controls, policies, and procedures. Healthcare organizations can effectively reap the benefits of AWS to protect sensitive patient records if they adhere to the above-mentioned best practices and comply with the HIPAA regulations.
About Boris Dzhingarov
Boris Dzhingarov is a marketer and a journalist. He graduated from the University of National and World Economy (UNWE) in Sofia with a major in marketing. He contributes to multiple websites and portals.
Dzhingarov is a proud sponsor of Healthcare Scene.
