Digitalization in Healthcare: The 7 Secrets Every IT Team Should Know

The digitalization of healthcare is all but unstoppable. If you're an IT professional working in healthcare, you likely see the transformation from physical to digital services happening right in front of you every day.

It's an amazing development. The only caveat is that every change, regardless of how good a change it is - comes with a certain risk. Digitalizing healthcare therefore is very much a security issue.

Data breaches, be it caused by human error, cybercrime or both, storing files of increasingly large sizes, application management that must adhere to ever stringent rules... For the IT professional, modernizing healthcare is a hefty challenge.

That's why we're giving you 7 ways to make this challenge... well, less challenging:

7 secrets that will make your life as an IT specialist easier

1. User-friendly software leads to friendly users

Stefan Gensen, IT manager at Novadic Kentron:

“I never hear anything about people using Smartlockr and it's not because people don't use it. We see many people using Smartlockr all the time. It's just that no one has any issues with it, even the employees who are not keen to work with a computer."

Read here why Novadic-Kentron chooses Smartlockr for secure healthcare communications

2. Built-in awareness minimizes the risk of human error

An accident can happen quickly and without warning. So why not make it difficult to make mistakes? Fewer mistakes in the workplace also means less work for you and your team. By increasing awareness, everyone within the organization will deal better with the exchange of data and the use of systems.

Niki van der Eynde, ICT Delivery Service Manager at Korian:

“I think our employees kind of like using Smartlockr, because it makes them realize they're sending emails both efficiently and securely."

Discover why one of Europe's biggest care providers chose Smartlockr.

3. Stay in control of sent data, block when necessary

What if someone within your organization made a mistake, for instance when medical data has been sent to the wrong patient. Options to recall a sent email ensure that you remain in full control of sent data. Options such as an administrator portal give you as an IT specialist the possibility not only to monitor activities, but also to intervene if necessary.

4. Encrypted data storage keeps your data safe at rest

It may be obvious, but a storage place where you can store all your data is a big relief. Think of data centers where you can store data easily, and encrypted. This way you no longer have to worry whether the data is safely stored at rest.

5. Security training makes every employee a strong asset in your IT strategy

You don't have to do all everything yourself. In fact, it is often better to involve everyone within your organization. This certainly applies to data security. With the right security training, everyone is aware of the security policies, employees know what needs to be done and involvement also ensures that you get more support for your strategy.

6. Integrate secure communication within Outlook in the browser, Gmail or phone

Healthcare professionals are busy, very busy. That is why communication can take place at any time of the day, and email is often preferred. By easily integrating with systems / environments such as Outlook, Gmail or mobile devices, everyone continues to work as they are used to, but securely. If you have to use separate apps for this, this could be at the expense of the work processes. You want to make it as simple as possible for everyone.

Read more: Why digitization in healthcare makes secure emailing necessary

7. Data Loss Prevention helps you set security standards. Know what is leaving the organization, by whom it was sent and to whom