SaaS Security in Healthcare: What You Need to Know

As digital transformation has revolutionized the world, electronic data plays an integral role in healthcare organizations. This valuable data must be kept confidential and integral. SaaS implementation within the healthcare industry has skyrocketed over the last few years. The smooth migration to SaaS security in healthcare results in the distribution of data assets across highly decentralized cloud applications. However, this shift often comes at the unwanted cost of data privacy and SaaS security across all healthcare sectors.

Whether it’s a patient’s medical records or treatment details, professional healthcare providers must promise the integrity of information stored in the cloud. Delivering precise and prompt care depends on the Protected Health Information (PHI). Without it, a patient’s health could be at higher risk. This article walks you through some of the fundamental aspects of SaaS security setup to smoothly address the challenges in value-based healthcare. Let’s get the ball rolling.

What is SaaS Security in the Health Industry? | A Snapshot

Let’s start from scratch. SaaS is a cloud computing service. It is a business model that allows customers to use cloud-based applications. On a larger spectrum, SaaS security encompasses all the key practices and technologies backed by entities of HIPAA compliance. This security model helps to protect patient data and systems accessibility through cloud-based software applications.

According to a Gartner report, around 99% of cloud security failures will be at the cost of the customer’s fault. The shared responsibility model emphasizes user/staff awareness and handover the operational strain of IT security to the acknowledged cloud provider.

Before security teams roll up their sleeves and get into the nitty-gritty of security, let’s first take a moment to answer some vital questions about SaaS apps:

• Where does all the information reside and how is personally identifiable information being processed?
• Who has direct access to sensitive information, and how viable is it?

The decentralized characteristic of SaaS applications for data management makes these questions tricky to answer but not impossible to crack.

Know About User Access | An Overview

Healthcare being an industry more prone to cyberattacks comes with multifaceted challenges. Managing better patient management strategies and user access control methods in healthcare is no easy feat. This challenge stems from the involvement of a diverse workforce of in-house providers, researchers, contractors, and collaborative partners operating across multiple facilities. Let’s understand the various touchpoints to effectively manage user access.

• SaaS puts in place an added layer of intricacy with dispersed data across disparate sources.
• Decentralized healthcare data makes it difficult to pinpoint where more vulnerable data resides and who has valid access to it.
• Risk assessments provide a detective eye to barricade suspicious access and narrow down the impact of breaches while protecting confidential information.

The audit of user privileges and access rights improves the operational flow of healthcare organizations. This is the point where they can further restrict administrative rights implementing the principle of least privilege (PoLP). Furthermore, real-time monitoring solutions at the helm of data security policies ditch the hackers to penetrate healthcare systems, networks and applications.

In 2023, data breaches cost different organizations an average of $4.45M. The SaaS healthcare market in the world is projected to measure the growth by 19.5% from 2021 to 2028.

What are the Different IT Security Controls? | Valuable Insights

ICT is more about Information and Communication Technologies embodying the tools and resources to create, store, transfer and share information. Do you want to secure your healthcare IT system? Don’t fret. It requires implementing several necessary measures on different layers. Let’s quickly get down to business.

Basic Security Controls

• Anti-virus/malware
• Backup and restoration of data files
• Security awareness education
• Data loss prevention
• Web gateway
• Encryption at rest mode and in-flight
• Encryption for archived files/data
• Mobile device management
• User access management
• HIPAA policies and procedures
• Incident response plan
• Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems
• Patch management program
• Secure disposal

Enhanced Data Security Controls

• Anti-theft devices
• Vulnerability scans
• Network segmentation
• Threat intelligence sharing procedures
• MFA method
• Penetration testing/pen test
• Business continuity and disaster recovery plan

The incorporation of the ICT system into healthcare IT promises to streamline operations and patient care through an effective EHR solution. The exponential rise in the dependency on health data being stored and shared electronically spells the need for rigorous security measures. Fortunately, SaaS automation tools provide the best opportunities for healthcare IT to fortify their security posture.

SaaS vs IaaS | How Healthcare IT is Becoming More Protected?

Out of the three main cloud computing as-a-service options, SaaS and IaaS are more relevant to focus for healthcare organizations.

SaaS and Benefits in Healthcare

Software-as-service is a cloud-based software that has got profound approval from the end audiences over the years. Healthcare is no exception in this way. As businesses move away from legacy on-premises software solutions, SaaS provides a bundle of perks over on-premises software solutions including flexibility, reduced upfront costs, little to no downtime, higher scalability and more. Let’s shed light on the advantages of SaaS in the healthcare market.

• Efficient electronic healthcare records (EHR) management and telemedicine integration.
• Get seamless storage and retrieval of patient data for better care.
• Guarantees real-time data exchange for faster and more informed decision-making.
• Higher accessibility from anywhere for improved patient engagement and medical convenience.
• Enhanced data safety is guaranteed with regular backups and disaster recovery measures.

IaaS and Benefits in Healthcare

IaaS is a wonderful cloud computing model making it a breeze to deploy computer workloads. Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) is a cloud-based model where a provider delivers all the needed infrastructure (servers, storage capacity, networking) to customers over the Internet as a service. Healthcare organizations can have a custom cloud environment in the form of IaaS, having access to computing resources on demand without capitalizing on the purchase, configuration or management of physical infrastructure. Some of the striking benefits of this model are worth appreciation in the healthcare industry. Let’s buckle up!

• It simplifies scaling to amp up hospital capacities.
• The service provider dispenses more resources for effective EHR management.
• Allows healthcare organizations to analyze large datasets and optimize operations.
• IaaS supports remote medical consultations and monitoring.
• Provides computational ability and storage space for drug development and genomic analysis.

Third-Party Integrations | Comprehensive Insights

If you have no clue about what is the significance of third-party integration in healthcare, don’t fret. This section offers valuable insights into it. Third-party integrations connect applications or data from external sources (e.g. medical devices or other relevant software) to upscale functionalities and streamline medical operations. This all is performed at the helm of secure data exchange and better interoperability. Along with benefits, it also carries risk factors when dealing with Protected Health Information (PHI) systems and Personally Identifiable Information (PII).

Here are details about solutions to counter the pitfalls:

• Organizations need to examine the inventory of their integrations by checking permissions, scopes of their access, and other factors.
• Continuous monitoring of the integrations to trace the gaps or possible compromises.
• Implement Integration Risk Management (IRM) solutions to monitor the organization’s SaaS applications configurations, integrations, and overall activities.
• Exercise technical measures to identify, prevent and automatically respond to potential incidents.
• Maintain your inventory of integrations for higher security and record-keeping of the organization’s application count, configuration changes, and permissions.
• Practice breach and attack simulations for proactive response to risks and quick turnaround.
• Testers within an organization often need seamless access to the environment to simulate the safety actions of a real adversary.

Nothing surprising to express that the overall adoption rate of the SaaS model in the healthcare market is upscaling at the rate of 20% annually.

What are the Potential SaaS Security Risks in Healthcare?

Healthcare organizations are custodians of a treasure trove of susceptible medical and any breach could have adverse consequences. When it comes to SaaS security in healthcare, multiple red flags make healthcare data such a prime target for cybercriminals.

Goldmine of Medical Data

Healthcare data is a new favorite of cybercriminals. The sensitive medical information of patients is recklessly sold on the dark web for top dollar. Healthcare organizations easily become prey to the nasty endeavors of hackers including personal details loss, credit card information and more.

Increased Attack Surface

With the prevalence of migration to cloud-based SaaS solutions, healthcare organizations have become more prone to cyber incidents. The proliferation of multiple devices, remote access points and integrations exponentially expands the attack surface.

Compliance Pressure

Health organizations need to follow the standard compliance regulations of HIPAA for patient data protection. Non-compliance penalties can be steep both financially and reputationally. SaaS providers need to keep their regulatory guards active to avoid repercussions.

Insider Threats

Human intervention in crime commission is one of the most significant risks in any security paradigm and healthcare is no exception. Unconscious or malicious attempts by staff, contractors or vendors can blow the lid off healthcare’s most closely guarded data trove. Whether it’s a lost device, weak encryption or internal activity, insider threats are a key concern.

Solutions Checklist for Securing SaaS in Healthcare

Once all the key risks are on the table, it’s time to shift the gears to discuss the defenses. Before you reap all the benefits of SaaS solutions, security demands a multi-layered approach to fend off all the threats. Here are the vital strategies to consider.

Access Control

In an advanced digital world, password-based security is incompetent to ditch all external intrusions. MFA (fingerprint scan, text code or facial recognition) should be implemented across all the platforms and only authorized users can access sensitive data.

Encryption

It is the first line of defense to protect valuable data. Whether it is at rest or in transit mode, encryption of all types of data is crucial. If a hacker gains access, information remains unreadable. Encryption serves as a fortress around your data, leaving hackers with nothing more than junk.

Regular Monitoring

Regular audits are like keeping an eye on the ball. No matter if you have all the right locks in place, continuous monitoring keeps you updated on who is accessing your healthcare SaaS applications and what they’re doing. Using automated monitoring tools, healthcare organizations can detect and fix potential anomalies before they turn into full-blown security gaps.

Vendor Risk Management

Vetting the gatekeepers is a crucial step to sealed-proof security. When it comes to ensuring SaaS security setup in healthcare, choosing a reputable and seasoned vendor is more than an option. Healthcare organizations should thoroughly conduct third-party audits with industry standards to keep sensitive data secure. SSPMs also play a vital role in monitoring third-party integrations with core SaaS apps.

Backup and Recovery Plans

No one likes to imagine a worst-case scenario but having a proactive backup and actionable recovery plan is indispensable in a hacking-prone healthcare sector. Whether it’s a ransomware attack or an accidental data deletion, healthcare facilities can restore the data quickly using backup systems and recovery plans in hand.

Workers Training

No matter how strong and proven security tools you have in place, the weakest link in your chain may still be your employee. Cybercriminals know how to exploit human errors and phishing email is one of the easiest ways to trick an employee into revealing confidential healthcare details. Having a human firewall in place can be a potential way to dodge the bullets. Staff training is an integral part of SaaS security in healthcare.

Want to Improve SaaS Security? | First Acknowledge it

The service providers managing IT security can’t be complacent in the ordinary. In the ever-changing digital dynamics, it is the need of the hour to be on alert about every new cyber risk. It requires understanding their depth of impact, building a comprehensive cyber security strategy and implementing the right tools and procedures to counter this challenge.

• ICT technology-related security operations can emphasize more non-IT cybersecurity threat prevention.
• It helps to develop a more viable and effective overall security plan.

Benefits of Healthcare Software Security As A Service

The modern digital world is transforming every industry on new lines. It’s a process largely based on digital code rather than physical code. SaaS has propped up healthcare operations by driving value in efficiency, cost management, and patient care. The wealthy history of successful results spotlights several key benefits. Let’s unfold them.

Cost Efficiency

Unlike legacy systems, vendors eliminate the need for heavy hardware infrastructure installations. It subsequently saves the initial costs and this model further slashes the maintenance expenses for in-house IT staff. With the least downtime, SaaS allows medical facilities to allocate budget for more needed areas.

Enhanced Accessibility

Medical experts can easily access patient details from any location at any required time. Increased accessibility brings both patient and doctor to one table with up-to-date medical records and effortless treatment opportunities.

Better Data Management

SaaS healthcare allows secure data management, data sharing and improved operational flow. Apart from updated patient records, it supports advanced analytics to identify patient needs and build personalized care treatment plans for effective results.

Heightened Security

Strengthened encryption and backups enhance the protection of patient data. Specialized security features within the healthcare platforms timely identify and address the risks to control data breach activities.

Greater Collaboration

Better communication and collaboration lead to seamless data sharing between different departments across healthcare teams. SaaS guarantees that all healthcare experts have real-time access to patient information. It synchronizes workflows and fosters more effective care coordination.

Improved Patient Outcomes

Effective collaboration and information management enable healthcare providers to make more knowledge-based decisions. The timely interventions based on real-time access to patient information elevate the quality of patient care.

Let us be Your Partner in an Improved Healthcare System!

Every healthcare organization has a different set of needs, expectations, goals and resources. Investing in a secure future for healthcare SaaS is a blueprint to stay ahead of the curve. Continuous compliance with security standards helps to proactively tackle potential cyber threats and maintain the integrity of healthcare services. The role of a professional vendor is worth mentioning in the delivery of sustainable security services in the healthcare sector. SaaS security should not be an afterthought because it provides a more cohesive view of an organization’s security posture.