In today’s health care environment, the protection of private patient information is a top priority. HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) regulations apply to health care providers that transmit health information via electronic form, health plans and health care clearing houses. It provides standards for electronic exchange and protects all identifiable health information held or transmitted by a covered entity or business associated in any form or media.
Due to advances in technology, technical safeguards are becoming much more important. The more technology improves, the more possible security issues there can be. Under HIPPA, health care organizations have to find new ways to protect electronic protected health information from risks, both internally and externally. To reduce the risks to the information, it is important that safeguards be implemented. While the proper policies and procedures still need to be in place, the Aqua Connect Terminal Server (ACTS) will help organizations comply with some of the HIPPA regulations.
It is important for HIPPA compliance to use a protocol that will encrypt and decrypt electronic protected health information. If the information is encrypted, it will help prevent unauthorized users from looking at information they are not supposed to. When allowing remote access via portable hardware, one should be extremely cautious about how that data is going to be used. Procedures should be set in place in case the hardware is lost or stolen.
ACTS provides a central point for data, encrypts communication and delivers secure remote access with a device that has a compatible connection. With ACTS, all of the data is on the same server. By doing so, you don’t have to worry about losing portable devices that contain confidential health information when outside of the office. As long as the password is not stored on the portable devices, unauthorized users would not be able to access any of the confidential information.
If they do not want to use the RDP protocol, organizations can choose to use the VNC protocol paired with a VPN (Virtual Private Network) instead. Using the Aqua Connect admin tools and software that comes with Mac OS X Server, administrators can decide which people can access certain types of information and use software. These can be sorted into groups, each with its own level of access, depending on job relevance. This will increase security with shared workstations and kiosks. This enhances authentication and ensures encrypted communication in wireless and LAN environments. With auditing, it is possible to monitor and control access to applications in a data center.
