In a column for FierceHealthIT, Ken Terry writes that several cost effective steps can be implemented to curb healthcare security spending and limit data breaches. A few recent examples, according to Terry, prove that universal encryption of data "could eliminate the biggest source of breaches," while the virtual desktop infrastructure ends the need "to store any personal health information on end-user devices." Since, in general, hackers seek Social Security numbers, Terry asserts, the "only cure for that...is to replace the 'social' with a national patient identifier." With patient control of data among potential security and privacy challenges, healthcare providers could do a better job educating patients about available data control options, he writes.
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