Remote access to your agency’s electronic systems has become standard practice within the past few years. The ease with which we access information today, whether in the office, at home, or on the road has become a necessary part of most agency’s workflow. Part of the credit for this is the rise of cloud-based practice management (PM) and EHR systems. With web-based agency management systems, all of your agency’s users, whether in the office or not, access your data through the internet. Proper device security is a necessity for data protection as well as HIPAA compliance.
To improve operational security, AccuMed™ Cloud Services can effectively manage encryption and security for you on the server side. However, you will still need to properly secure your agency’s devices and the confidential data they transmit over the internet. Remote access to data still remains one of the riskiest aspects of data security.
Disable Password Saving in Web Browsers
This simple process is a crucial element of device security. Most web browsers prompt users to save usernames and passwords for various sites on the Internet. Although this feature may be useful, it can also put your sensitive data at risk if you are not careful. Security experts recommend that users should not save passwords within their browser for sites which have any private or sensitive information. Below are instructions to disable the password saving feature, or to force the browser to clear all currently saved passwords, on commonly used browsers.
Disabling password saving in Internet Explorer for Windows:
- Launch Internet Explorer.
- Select Tools > Internet Options > Content.
- Under “Personal information”, click AutoComplete.
- To stop password saving, uncheck User names and passwords on forms.
- To clear all existing saved usernames and passwords, click on Clear Passwords , then click OK in the warning dialog box.
Disabling password saving in Firefox for Windows:
- Open Firefox.
- Go to Preferences > Security
- Uncheck Remember logins for sites.
- To clear any saved usernames and passwords, click the Saved Passwords button.
- Select the site and username to remove and click Remove, or click Remove All to clear all saved usernames in Firefox, then click Close.
- To quit Preferences/Options, click OK.
Additional Tips for Securing Your Devices
Device security is one of the simplest and at times the most overlooked form of data protection. First, ensure to apply all software updates, including regularly updated anti-virus and anti-malware software. Always use good passwords, don’t make it too easy for others to access your device. Enable encryption of the device itself and its storage, this is be done on most mobile devices. In most cases an encrypted device is at very low risk of data loss. Make it a habit to set all of your devices to lock after a short period of non-use.
AccuMed™ EHR provides agencies with secure, HIPAA-Compliant technology to easily adapt their workflow to the rapidly changing demands of today’s healthcare community. Learn more about our Secure AccuMed™ Cloud Services
