While electronics are a huge asset, they can pose a lot of threats, specifically those related to the data we store on our devices. Getting rid of electronic data isn’t as simple as destroying a piece of paper. Any business should be concerned about protecting their private data kept on their electronics and know the steps needed to fully destroy it. While data destruction is important in any industry, it’s especially important in healthcare. Anyone receiving any sort of healthcare expects the utmost privacy from their provider, so healthcare professionals need to ensure that they have an effective data destruction plan in place.
Newtech Recycling knows the importance of data destruction in the healthcare field and takes all the necessary precautions to protect your private information. Learn more about data destruction in healthcare and why it’s so important.
It Protects Patients’ Privacy
Healthcare professionals want to give their patients the best care possible. Due to the nature of the healthcare field, those who work in it are held to extremely high standards to serve their patients. When you receive treatment from a healthcare professional, you want to know that your information is safe with them. Regardless of the care a patient is receiving, the information healthcare professionals have access to regarding their patients is deeply personal and extremely sensitive. If this data is compromised in any way, it can put patients in danger. There are people out there who will try to gain access to this information and cause harm to your patients, so you need to do everything you can to keep their data protected.
Your Reputation Depends On It
Of course, while patients are the top priority of healthcare workers, they also need to worry about their business. To keep a business up and running, it needs to maintain a good reputation. Otherwise, no one will want to utilize their services. Security and safety risks like accessible data can jeopardize a business in the healthcare industry.
Trust is a necessary part of receiving quality healthcare. If patients feel that they can’t trust healthcare workers to handle sensitive information responsibly, it’s impossible to build a relationship that allows patients to be treated and cared for effectively. Healthcare providers with a bad record of protecting their patients’ medical records and other information are going to struggle to bring in enough business to stay open.
Data Destruction is Legally Required
It’s extremely important to understand that destroying protected health information isn’t optional. Federal and state laws require businesses in healthcare to destroy electronic data. HIPAA has strict rules mandating what types of data need to be destroyed to keep patients’ information safe. State laws may require healthcare providers to maintain patient health records for a certain retention period, so even if a provider is keeping their electronic devices, they still may need this data destroyed if they’re no longer retaining this information. Destroying data and ensuring that the methods used to destroy it are secure are up to businesses themselves, so it’s important to ensure the data destruction company or ITAD company you use is reliable. If a healthcare provider is caught not following regulations for data destruction, they could face expensive fines and other consequences.
How is Electronic Data Destroyed?
Destroying electronic data isn’t as easy as simply deleting files from your devices. If you have to protect your data before you get rid of your computer and any other electronic equipment you have, you need professional assistance. At Newtech Recycling, we have a few steps in our data destruction process that ensure no one can access it in the future. First, we remove the hard drives from all of your devices. When we have the hard drive, we wipe the data from it using a software purge and hit it with an electromagnetic pulse that will destroy any data stored on it. To finish the process, we physically shred hard drives and computer drivers, ensuring that no one can retrieve any data from them.
Ensure Your Data is Fully Destroyed
Data destruction in healthcare is necessary to protect your patients and your business.
To improve the way your business handles retention and destruction, let Newtech Recycling’s data destruction services help. We understand the importance of data destruction in healthcare. Newtech Recycling takes every precaution to ensure that you can safely recycle your unwanted electronics and not have to worry about anyone accessing confidential information.
If you’re in the healthcare field and need to recycle office equipment and need to ensure that all data stored on your electronics are carefully destroyed, contact Newtech Recycling for help.