- Create a security plan for a medium sized health care facility. In your security plan, evaluate how you would approach security threats from both inside and outside the organization. Be sure that you address the following items in your security plan:
- physical and administrative safeguards: employee education, health information archival and retrieval systems, disaster recovery, storage media
- access safeguards: authentication, password management
- network safeguards: cloud computing, firewalls, encryption / decryption and using mobile devices to deliver healthcare
- Critique the plan you have written, identifying its strengths, elements that were not covered in the text, and any additional omissions or weaknesses of the plan.
As a reference, you may want to visit the following website:
Source: HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Audit Program: United States Department of Health & Human Services. Retrieved from http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/enforcement/audit/index.html
Requirements:
- 2–3 pages in length, prepared in a Microsoft Word document, and APA-formatted.
- Include a title page and reference page. Length requirements do not include the title page, and the reference page.
- Include at least two references. All sources must be scholarly. Wikipedia is not acceptable. Use APA style for all citations and format including Times New Roman 12 point font and double spacing.
- Your writing should be well ordered, logical, and unified, as well as original and insightful.
Expert Solution Preview
Introduction:
Security of health care facilities is crucial to ensure that patients’ information and operations remain confidential and private. This assignment focuses on creating a security plan for a medium-sized health care facility, addressing physical and administrative safeguards, access safeguards, and network safeguards. Additionally, it requires critiquing the plan by identifying its strengths, weaknesses, omissions, and elements not covered in the text.
Answer:
Creating a Security Plan:
Security threats in a health care facility can arise from both within the organization and externally. Hence, it is essential to design a comprehensive security plan that safeguards against all sorts of potential invaders.
Physical and Administrative Safeguards:
Physical and administrative safeguards are necessary to protect the facility from unwarranted disclosures of protected health information (PHI) or unauthorized access. Employee education and disaster recovery are two physical and administrative safeguards that must be incorporated in the security plan. Employees must be educated to abide by the privacy and security policies and procedures proposed by the facility. Also, a disaster recovery plan must be set up that outlines the steps to be taken in the event of a disaster.
Access Safeguards:
Authentication, password management, and authorization are necessary for access safeguards. Authentication ensures only authorized users can access the information, and password management guarantees the password is protected from unauthorized disclosure or misuse. Authorization specifies the level of access granted for users consistent with their job responsibilities.
Network Safeguards:
To address network vulnerabilities, cloud computing, firewalls, and encryption/decryption must be included, and also, the use of mobile devices to deliver healthcare should be considered. Firewalls and encryption/decryption preserve data confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Additionally, cloud computing is ideal for backup data storage, and mobile devices could enable faster and more reliable data transfer.
Critique of the Plan:
Strengths: The plan is well organized and addresses all aspects of security threats in the health care facility. It incorporates physical and administrative safeguards, access safeguards, and network safeguards.
Elements not covered: The plan does not cover the risks of cyber threats or social engineering, which could be crucial in securing the facility. Also, it does not discuss the periodical assessment of security threats.
Weaknesses: Although it outlines the steps for employees’ education, it does not cover the periodic monitoring of their adherence to the security policies and procedures outlined in the plan. Furthermore, the plan does not specify how PHI will be safeguarded against natural disasters.
Omissions: This plan did not mention policies and procedures related to breach notification and response protocols.
Conclusion:
Designing a security plan for health care facilities is vital to address security threats from both internal and external sources. The security plan must incorporate physical, administrative, access, and network safeguards. Additionally, it should be reviewed periodically to amend any shortcomings and may frequently update as new technology and features emerge.
