The digital era has brought numerous advancements to healthcare services, management, and record-keeping. But with these benefits come increasing challenges in securing health data, ensuring compliance with HITECH and HIPAA regulations, and supporting HITRUST certification. Traditional compliance-centered risk management methods are struggling to keep up with evolving technologies and emerging threats. Now is the time for covered entities and business associates to adopt a Zero Trust Data security posture to safeguard their assets and future-proof their compliance processes.

🚀 Moving Beyond Conventional Cybersecurity

Traditional cybersecurity has been focused on building digital 'walls' to separate sensitive information from external threats. However, this approach is increasingly failing to provide the necessary protection. Cybercriminals are finding ways to bypass these defenses, leaving sensitive data vulnerable once the perimeter is breached. It's time to think beyond the 'wall' and embrace a more effective solution.

🔏 Introducing XQ's Zero Trust Data: The Future of Healthcare Security

XQ's Zero Trust Data is designed to keep electronic protected health information (ePHI), electronic health records (EHR), and electronic medical records (EMRs) secure and controlled, no matter where they travel. Instead of focusing on network perimeters, Zero Trust Data encapsulates each piece of data in a secure 'envelope' that is only accessible in accordance with stringent 'never trust, always verify' protocols.

🌟 Key Benefits of Zero Trust Data: 

1. 💪 Enhanced Protection and Oversight: 💪 Enhanced Protection and Oversight: Zero Trust Data allows for data tracking, control, and deletion even after it leaves your network. With data secured on a per-packet basis, your sensitive information remains protected, even if nothing else is. Rely on XQ for oversight and protection even when other services fail. 

2. 📋 Simplified Compliance: Streamline HITECH/HIPAA compliance with XQ by encrypting, logging, and controlling ePHI, storing EHRs and EMRs, and transferring health data securely. You can even implement custom automated rules restricting data sharing according to your own policies or integrate functionality directly into patient management apps through a tailor-made solution.

3. 🎮 Minimize Data Loss: Zero Trust Data's alert system, remote data deletion, and access modification features give you the ability to address incidents after the fact. impact of data loss incidents. These risk-erasing features are proven to help limit the scope and seriousness of data loss incidents, reducing recovery costs and potential fines.

4. 🚥 Support Patient Autonomy: Empower patients to make informed decisions about their healthcare and data management with features that put them in the driver’s seat. Patients can track their data’s interactions and decide who gets visibility to what information and for how long. XQ’s data revocation and oversight capabilities build trust and contribute to a more patient-centered healthcare system by empowering patients to make informed and autonomous health data management decisions.

5. ⏭️ Future-Proofing Compliance: The Department of Defense (DoD) has recently published its Zero Trust Strategy and Roadmap, signaling a potential future shift in compliance requirements across industries. XQ is the first commercially available solution to provide a data solution aligned with the Zero Trust Data requirements outlined in the DoD’s Zero Trust Strategy. Adopting Zero Trust Data today can help healthcare organizations stay ahead of the curve and be ready for any changes in regulatory frameworks.

6. 🛡️Insulate Against Penalties: The 2021 Safe Harbor Act directs the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Civil Rights (HHS-OCR), to consider a healthcare organization’s security posture when imposing penalties. If an organization can demonstrate it has been following recognized security practices for 12+ months, penalties for incidents like data loss can be substantially reduced. 

   Achieving Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) is one straightforward way for covered entities and business associates to demonstrate adherence to a recognized security framework. While CMMC is intended for military contractors (including healthcare organizations with DoD contracts), it is based on NIST controls and shares many requirements with HIPAA and HITECH. Thus, fulfilling CMMC requirements may require only a few additional steps for many healthcare organizations.

   XQ supports XQ supports compliance with up to 79 of the 110 Level 2 CMMC requirements. By achieving CMMC, healthcare organizations can insulate themselves against penalties, bolster their reputation, and even access opportunities in new markets.

   Demonstrating this kind of advanced commitment to data protection dramatically increases the likelihood that HHS-OCR will be lenient. Take your organization to the next level by integrating XQ and working toward recognized security practices like CMMC - prove your dedication to health data protection and secure your peace of mind!

🗓️ Safety Tomorrow Is a Day Too Late

Don't wait to safeguard sensitive data. Future-proof your organization today. Discover how XQ's Zero Trust Data can revolutionize your healthcare security and compliance landscape by connecting with us. Email us, book a call, or visit us at HIMSS in Chicago next week! We’ll be at Ingram Micro booth #2279 👋