Ensuring Security in the Increasingly Complicated Healthcare File Transfer

Secure file transfer is extremely complicated—particularly in health care, with the variety of data, sources, recipients, protocols, and regulations involved—but it has to become easy. In this video, Gregory Hoffer, CEO at Coviant Software, describes today’s requirements for data sharing in health care.

First of all, a large healthcare institution might transfer hundreds of thousands of files every day. Partners include payers, pharmacies, government agencies, labs, service providers, and more. Coviant serves many industries, but Hoffer says that health care companies are their biggest customers.

Sometimes a single file might need to be sent to a small provider who accepts only email. Other transfers might use SFTP (an industry standard protocol for end-to-end encryption) or major cloud storage vendors.

To deal with secure file transfer, Hoffer advises more education for IT staff. However, they shouldn’t be required to master complex protocols and learn how to write their own scripts to carry out file transfers. IT staff are overworked and distracted, tasked with everything from helping new staff install computers to protecting the institution against ransomware.

This is where Coviant comes in. They turn the welter of different file transfer options into a matter of checkboxes and point-and-click interfaces. They handle everything that HIPAA (recently updated) requires: data maps and supply chain management, end-to-end and at-rest encryption, auditing, archiving, notifications, etc.

Hoffer points out that some institutions use secure methods to send data to external partners, but rely on insecure file sharing internally. Coviant’s Diplomat MFT platform automates secures file exchanges both externally and internally. They are already adopting post-quantum encryption.

He would like to see “some minimum threshold of security compliance” in future regulations, and certification. He says that Coviant’s goal is not just minimal regulatory compliance or even preventing breaches, but making secure information transfer easy and intuitive.

Watch the video for more insights about securing data transfer in health care data today.  To find out more about the proposed HIPAA changes and how Coviant Software can support your HIPAA Compliant File Transfers check out their HIPAA Guide.

Learn more about Coviant Software: https://www.coviantsoftware.com/

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Coviant Software is a proud sponsor of Healthcare Scene.