Acquisitions & mergers: Securing PHI a priority

Wed, 8/10/2016 - 12:00pmCollin Jones0 Commentsvar addthis_config = {ui_click: true,data_track_clickback: true,data_ga_social: true,data_ga_property: " UA-317164-6 " };In mergers and acquisitions (M&A), buyers must perform due diligence with a rigorous cybersecurity assessment, to make sure the companies get the value they are paying for. Before pursuing a divestiture or sale, sellers also should examine cybersecurity practices to help reduce time and costs, avoid surprises and sweeten deals.Read the full article at:www.cio.comThe recent article on ensuring cybersecurity in mergers and acquisitions from CIO.com, given all the recent healthcare provider strategic changes, got us thinking about how to ensure PHI security during  hospital and provider M&As.  Often, IT staff may have a strategic plan, but certainly not a comprehensive mapping of where all patient data is stored and sent, and of course any  vulnerabilities along the way. Over time, data highways of a given health practice get more and more complex.This downstream lab here needed a quick ADT, the downstream hospital still needs faxed results or via an online portal, and pretty soon you have a complex process to map.  Typically, data mapping is part of the due diligence for the hospital or clinic to provide to a potential buyer. Worst case scenario, the problem is dropped on the  potential buyer, who now has an unknown mess of data highways and potential PHI vulnerabilities.  Have you ever bought sou...
Source: NeoTool Healthcare IT Blog - Category: Information Technology Authors: Source Type: blogs