Confidentiality of patient data is paramount in all types of healthcare environments when it comes to personal health information. A lack of proper patient data protection can easily cause personal and even financial damage to your patients.

Healthcare personnel are mainly concerned about the wellbeing of their patients, and having a trusting nature can cause them to become cyber targets. So, there may easily be a security breach without even knowing it. Here we’ll take a look at digital mailbox rental and solution options.

The Disadvantages of Traditional Data Storage Methods in Hospitals

There are several disadvantages when it comes to traditional storage methods of patient data in hospitals.

• Paper Records:.The method used for all these many years was to maintain and store physical files and paper records of every patient in a file cabinet. This left it open to unauthorized access, loss through misplacement or even theft, and permanent damage to these records.
• Servers on the Premises: On-premise servers might seem like a reasonably safe option to store patient data, but this may also decrease cost-effectiveness. This includes high maintenance and operation costs, and it doesn’t allow proper access control and may become too much to handle.
• External hard drives: An external hard drive may allow moving data to a safe location, but it can also be easily stolen. The hard drives can also be damaged in many ways, including fire damage, which limits security options.
• Cloud-based storage: This option seems like a great way to replace that external hard drive. The potential for data breaches is ever present, and you may lose control over data stored off-site.
• Other portable storage devices: Having a USB drive to quickly store important data is quite handy, but we all know you can just as easily lose it. Other types of portable storage devices like DVD and Blu-ray discs can get damaged physically, causing you to lose access to that data.

You can see how easy it is to lose patient records or let them end up in the wrong hands with these methods.

How Can a Digital Mailbox Improve Data Security in Hospitals?

Keeping patient data in hospitals secure has become critical with the ingenuity of cyber thieves in this digital age. Luckily improved technology can be applied by those trained to use them effectively against these digital culprits.

Data Encryption
Enhanced encryption methods are the first step to improve the data security of all data types used by digital mailbox UK services. This is done through a wide range of methods to encrypt all data with password protection and other security protocols.

Access Control
Improved control over access to all types of data goes hand-in-hand with data encryption with different access layers. This simply means that access to critical data can be managed by higher-level personnel to prevent security breaches.

Improved Monitoring Capabilities
Regular auditing and monitoring of your data and access to it can be done with advanced methods used by a digital mailbox for business. What is great about this is that the auditing and monitoring of your data are done automatically to improve overall patient information security.

Prevent Unauthorised Access
Digital mailbox services ensure your data is restricted, allowing only authorised access. Limited access to critical information means the chances of security breaches can be reduced, improving data security.

Industry Standards Compliance
Digital mailbox service providers comply with the regulations and rules of retaining critical communication data. Complying with these rules will help to improve productivity while providing much higher levels of data security and corruption prevention.

Improved Productivity
Having instant access to information assists healthcare professionals in working faster and more efficiently. It improves productivity and allows quicker turnaround, which can make a big difference in patient treatments

Better Data Protection
Data loss and security breaches can happen in many ways, not just through theft or internal losses. Natural calamities, disasters and other disruptions can also cause data loss, which can be avoided with digital mailbox solutions.

How Can a Digital Mailbox Protect Patient Privacy in Hospitals?

Patients' privacy in hospitals needs to be protected for many different reasons. Protecting patient privacy will also help to form a security culture and an environment of trust in any healthcare organization.

HIPAA Compliance
It is a federal law that hospitals and other healthcare organisations protect sensitive data about the health and state of their patients. With a digital mailbox solution, the hospitals can strictly adhere to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act to protect sensitive information.

Secure Communication
Virtual mailbox services are quite secure and can provide a higher level of security for doctor and patient communication. It will also help prevent sharing sensitive patient data with the wrong person.

Easy Information Editing
Errors in patient records can easily be rectified or edited. This will also help to delete redundant information that will prevent providing the wrong type of health service to a patient.

Prevent Unauthorised Access
Unauthorised access to a patient's sensitive information has always been a problem but that can now be prevented, especially from those with malicious intent.

Patient’s Peace of Mind
When patients provide sensitive information to a healthcare organisation like a hospital, they entrust them with it. Digital mailbox systems can help the hospital or other healthcare organisation to establish trust with the patients.

Reduce the Risk of Legal Consequences
A hospital must maintain high data security to prevent security breaches and legal action arising from the consequences. This can be prevented through scrutiny and a high level of data security provided by a digital mailbox service provider.

Importance of Using Exela Digital Mailbox Services for Robust Data Security and Privacy in Hospitals

To maintain a high level of security to prevent the leakage of sensitive patient information, you need a reliable digital mailbox service. This is where you need the digital mailbox services of Exela to provide your hospital with smart mail solutions to the problem.

We will provide you with digital mailbox systems to set up a virtual or digital mailbox for your healthcare business. We receive all mail on your behalf and instantly upload it to your computer or smartphone through your personal dashboard - the ultimate in mailroom automation.

Through a nationwide network, we will secure your mail and scan it to provide quick and easy digital access from anywhere. In addition, we’ll save you time and money by quickly depositing all checks so you can get paid promptly.

Exela's digital mailbox services also offer a built-in eSignature feature, helping you instantly sign your documents and save time and effort. Depending on your business needs, a variety of plans are available for you to choose from.

Conclusion

As you can see, having a good digital mailbox solution will benefit hospitals and their patients. Build that necessary culture of trust between the patient and the healthcare organization through the improved security services provided by a digital mailbox service.

What better way to get that peace of mind you and your patients can have than with Exela’s digital mailbox services? Get in touch to learn more.