Health Data Breach Response Plan

Health Data Breach Response Plan Help

Health Data Breach Response Plan.

Instruction:-

        Health Data Breach Response Plan

  • Propose a data response plan that address the following:
    • Step One: The organization’s response to the notification of a breach
    • Step Two: Identify those responsible parties (by titles) to respond to the notification of breach and explain each of their roles in the process
    • Step Three: Procedure(s) to confirm the occurrence of a breach & identify the involved scope/type of data involved
    • Step Four: A three (3)-point system measure, to impact of the data breach & the action(s) taken for each level of impact
    • Step Five: Data breach response and corrective practices
    • Step Six: Monitor/test effectiveness of response and corrective practices
    • Step Seven: Notification (public and customer (specify whether all customers are notified or just those impacted)
  • Proposed annual schedule of conducted risk analysis (frequency) to access the organization’s susceptibility of data security risks and identify the identified person(s) to conduct the scheduled risks analysis
  • Create a risk analysis data security checklist to identify human, technical, environmental, and natural threats
    • Required checklist categories: identified threat, contributing factors, example of threat, the likeliness of occurrence and the potential impact to the organization (negative impacts)
    • Determine a system to determine/rate the likeliness of occurrence and the potential impact to the managed care organization
  • A list of specific resources in place to respond to a data breach
  • Identification and the incorporation Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) security standards safeguards within the data response plan:
    • Administrative Safeguards
    • Physical Safeguards
    • Technical Safeguards

Create an agenda of topics to present in an organization-wide employee training on the topic “What is My Role in the Prevention of an Organization’s Breach of Data”

Solution

Health Data Breach Response Plan

Introduction

            When an organization discovers any form of data breach, there are diverse responses that may include either panic or implementation of a plan of action. As such, in most instances, the organization implements a data breach response plan geared towards mitigating any form of shortfalls. Admittedly, in the healthcare sector, data breaches are a common scenario and extensively costly. There are companies that are not prepared to mitigate the data breaches that may emerge. Thereby, the implementation of effective data breach response plan is important for successful outcomes in an organization. 

Health Data Breach Response Plan

  1. Organization’s response to the notification of a breach

The plan assists in the process to counteracting all the negative implications that can prevail in the instance that the event occurs. In the present environment, all the facilities that possess the medical data need to have a comprehensive incident response plan (Weil, 2014). Hence, in the operational environment, it is imperative to encompass a response plan that is based on effective strategies. Therefore, from the organizational perspective, the main organizational response to the notification of a breach should comprise of: 

  1. Designating incident team leader to examine the data breach
  2. Ensuring that there are emergency contacts available in the evaluation of the legal, human resource and marketing implications
  3. Implement an internal reporting system to examine the data breach
  4. Identification of the responsible parties in notification of breach

The concept of a data breach is reliant on the implementation of a fast and effective approach. Most importantly, the evaluation process of the breach is reliant on the different stakeholders in the healthcare sector. Among the most important and responsible parties are inclusive of the chief privacy officer, IT department, and customer service management team (Schwartz & Janger, 2007). The privacy officer should give a detailed report on the level of data breach that has prevailed in the organization. On the other hand, the IT department should present the most viable countermeasures to cap the data breach. Lastly, the customer service management team should be centred towards responding to the different complaints and issues raised by the patients.

  • Procedure to confirm the occurrence of breach and identification of the involved scope

The organization needs to implement a quick response in the instance of the data breach. As such, the process of confirming the occurrence of the data breach is reliant on the quick response and mobilization of teams and plans (Schwartz & Janger, 2007). Hence, the three key steps to confirming breach and identifying the involved scope entail: 

  1. Analysis and preservation of data coupled with digital evidence:  As the first step, securing the premise and taking an inventory of the missing items is important to confirm data breach. Further, review of the key card and the surveillance data is advisable for evaluation of any unusual activity.
  2. Identification of compromised data: coordination with the IT, HR and legal experts should be mandatory to evaluate the pertinent data. The stakeholders involved should determine the information that was taken and the consequential risks evident
  3. Communicate and ensure tracking progress: analysis of the progress of the breach should prevail through involvement of patients, shareholders, and employees
  4. Three-point system to measuring, evaluation of impact of data breach and action taken

Emphasis on the awareness of the HIPAA regulatory statements should generate a comprehensive timetable towards measuring, evaluating, and examining the impact coupled with action plan taken on the breach. Thereby, the process of evaluation should be based on analysis of the progress of the response process via continuous monitoring. Through continuous monitoring focus on the regular scheduling of evaluation of the progress of the data, breach analysis prevails. 

  • Data breach response and corrective practice

            Data breach response depends on the development of effective tactics geared towards mitigating the emergent challenges that can impede on analysis of the data breach. To ensure a quick response, it is advisable to ensure that the first 72 hours are geared towards countermeasures to examine the level of data breach. Weil, (2014) asserts that the emphasis on a quick and efficient response initiative should generate the most applicable and responsive policies that mitigate the level of impact of the data breach. 

  • Testing effectiveness of response and corrective practices

To test the effectiveness, it is important to emphasize on continuous improvement and evaluation. To test effectiveness, there is need to implement continuous documentation of the progress made in evaluating the data breach response. Additionally, the emphasis on change in technology in IT should heighten the effectiveness in responding to a data breach. 

  • Notification on whether the customers are notified

Notification of whether the clients are notified should depend on timetables and content. The method of notification should be based on a quick response. Customers affected should be notified within 60 days. Further, the notification should be in the best interest of the customers. 

Annual Schedule of Risk Analysis

The annual schedule of risk analysis is dependent on the management approaches to evaluation of the data breach. Admittedly, the notion of data breach calls for comprehensive evaluation of the annual schedule (Weil, 2014). Therefore, the annual schedule should be reliant on forensic teams and identification of the different security gaps or the risks identified for mitigation. Ensuring that similar data breach does not prevail is through the emphasis on the legal, environmental outcomes.

Risk Analysis Data Security Checklist

            Data breach is a facet of concern. In the healthcare sector, the data security checklist is geared towards the provision of an enabling environment to handling the data breach (Schwartz & Janger, 2007). Therefore, the risk analysis data security checklist should comprise of;

  1. Policy and governance process dependent on an effective data governance plan that outlines the organizational standards about data security
  2. Personal security to mitigate any form of human resource threats
  3. Network mapping of the data security analysis process
  4. Inventory of the assets required in management of the data breach
  5. Authentication in regards to the ways in which analysis of the network assets and information can prevail

Specific Resources to Respond to Data Breach

            In the data breach response process, harmonization of resources necessitates successful mitigation of the challenges evident. Therefore, from an organizational perspective, the development of a comprehensive resource base ensures management of the data breach. Therefore, from the research undertaken by Schwartz & Janger, (2007) the main resources include:

  1. Human resource team of experts: the experts are important and should be well versed in the fields of data forensics, information security, human resource management and communication
  2. State of the art data protection technology
  3. Capital resources to enable the purchase of new information technology security products
  4. Involvement of the law enforcement to examine the extent of the data breach

Identification and Incorporation Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Security Standards Safeguards within the Data Response Plan

            HIPAA security standards safeguard effectively in generating the development of regulations protecting the privacy of the health information. Hence, in the data response plan, the emphasis on effective conformity to the protection of electronic protected health information necessitates successful outcomes (Weil, 2014). Therefore, the identification of the legal obligations should comprise of;

  • Revisiting the State and Federal guidelines that govern the data breach
  • Determining the entities that need to be evaluated such as employees and customers
  • Ensuring that all the notifications prevail in the mandated timeframe

Agenda of Topics to Present in an Organization-wide Employee Training on the Topic

Among the agenda of topics to be presented in the employee training about the role of employees should include:

  • Need for compilation of breach reports for upper management
  • Creating a backup of information of the employees
  • Investing in the process of aligning compromised data with the customer names or addresses
  • Encompass the employees in the notification process

Conclusion

            Data breaches are an issue of concern in the present environment.  In a technology centric health sector, there is the development of increased level of the data breach. Therefore, from the analysis of the above analysis, it is important to examine data breach. The emphasis on data breach planning should develop a systematic approach to mitigating the incidence of the activity.

References

Schwartz, P. M., & Janger, E. J. (2007). Notification of Data Security Breaches. Michigan Law Review, 913-984.

Weil, A. R. (2014). Big Data in Health: A New Era for Research and Patient Care. Health Affairs, 33(7), 1110-1110.