How an M.L.S. Will Prepare You for Healthcare Information Security

With a Master of Legal Studies degree, professionals can better prepare for the legal and ethical nuances that come along with navigating this crucial field.

By Miami Law Blog Contributor 10-24-2024

In today's evolving digital healthcare landscape, more sensitive patient data is being collected and stored than ever before. In turn, the frequency and sophistication of cyberattacks and data breaches also continue to rise—underscoring the need for skilled healthcare information security professionals to protect sensitive data.

Understanding the Basics of Healthcare Information Security

What is healthcare information security? At its core, this field aims to protect patient data and medical records—ensuring the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of health and human services records at all times.

The Importance of Protecting Patient Data

Patient data can be extremely sensitive by nature. Doctors, for example, may collect details about a patient's medical history (and family history), past and current diagnoses, treatment plans, complications, and much more. Oftentimes, patient data can also include personal information, such as Social Security numbers, insurance information, and financial data.

Unfortunately, when there is a breach in healthcare information security, unauthorized individuals can access this sensitive information and use it to carry out crimes ranging from identity theft and financial fraud to discrimination and more. With this in mind, all healthcare organizations have ethical and legal obligations to protect patient privacy by following best practices for information security.

Key Concepts in Healthcare Information Privacy and Security

Those working in healthcare information security need to be familiar with a wide range of terms and concepts related to the field. Examples of the most common terminology in this discipline include:

HIPAA – The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act includes important guidelines for handling protected health information.
Data encryption – This is a process by which sensitive data is translated into an unreadable code that cannot be deciphered without a decryption key. Data encryption is commonly used to protect sensitive healthcare records.
Access controls – In cybersecurity, access controls manage who has access to sensitive data based on their need to obtain the data and other factors. Passwords, PINs, fingerprints, or other protections may be used to restrict access and improve security.
Risk management – This is a process by which healthcare organizations identify, assess, and respond to cybersecurity issues in healthcare information technology to prevent attacks before they occur.

Current Threats to Healthcare Information Security

Despite the many safeguards available to minimize security breaches in healthcare, organizations continue to face threats and vulnerabilities that are growing in size and scope.

Cybersecurity Challenges in the Healthcare Sector

Various potential threats and types of attacks can impact organizations in the healthcare sector, with some of the most common including:

Ransomware attacks, where attackers threaten to use compromised information unless the victim pays a ransom to recover the data.
Phishing scams, where hackers send emails or other messages that appear to be from reputable sources. However, when the victim clicks on a link or downloads a file, it contains malware that can compromise sensitive healthcare data.
Vulnerabilities in medical devices/connected systems, where medical devices in a healthcare office or hospital are compromised and used to access medical records or other sensitive information.
Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, where a healthcare facility's servers are overwhelmed with "fake" traffic, potentially crashing the entire system.

Recent Healthcare Information Breaches

You do not have to look far to find information on recent, high-profile data breaches affecting the healthcare industry. In fact, a quick search on the United States Department of Health and Human Services website reveals pages upon pages of healthcare data breaches reported in the past 24 months that are currently under investigation.

In July of 2024 alone, a ransomware attack on Ascension's medical record system took it out of commission for a month, causing a massive disruption for providers nationwide due to a lack of medical record availability. This attack alone affected millions of patients, and according to HIPAA Journal, another 2024 cyberattack on Change Healthcare's systems is estimated to have exposed the health records of up to one in three Americans.

Key Regulations Impacting Healthcare Information Security

By being aware of the primary laws and regulations that govern information security and privacy, those working with healthcare information systems can carry out best practices for security measures to protect medical information while remaining in compliance.

Overview of HIPAA and Its Impact on Data Privacy

Perhaps the most widely known regulation regarding healthcare information privacy is the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. This law covers more than just data privacy in healthcare — one of its most essential provisions relates to privacy and security. Specifically, HIPAA requires that all individually identifiable health information (such as credit card numbers and Social Security numbers) is protected — and that electronic protected health information (ePHI) has specific physical and technical safeguards in place.

Additionally, HIPAA outlines rules for reporting data breaches to potential victims, with healthcare organizations facing hefty fines and penalties for violating any of these requirements.

Other Relevant Laws and Regulations in Healthcare Information Security

Of course, HIPAA is not the only law in place that is meant to protect sensitive health information. Across the globe, many other laws and regulations impact healthcare information security, including state-specific data breach notification laws and even the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). These regulations often interact directly with HIPAA and impose additional compliance requirements on healthcare organizations that must be followed.

The Role of an M.L.S. in Healthcare Information Security

You might wonder what all of this has to do with a Master of Legal Studies degree. At the end of the day, this type of degree is specifically designed to equip individuals in healthcare information security with the legal and ethical knowledge needed to navigate the increasingly nuanced world of health information technology. In fact, there are numerous skills and competencies that students stand to acquire from completing an M.L.S. degree program.

Understanding HIPAA and Other Regulatory Frameworks

HIPAA is a major law that encompasses a wide range of rules and best practices for protecting sensitive healthcare information. In an M.L.S. program, students gain an in-depth understanding of these rules with dedicated coursework in HIPAA and related regulations. With this advanced legal knowledge, healthcare information security professionals can develop and implement effective compliance programs and policies within their respective organizations.

Developing and Implementing Data Security Policies

Meanwhile, M.L.S. graduates can leverage their legal and analytical skills to create and implement the most comprehensive data security policies and procedures within their organizations. With the knowledge gained in a Master of Legal Studies program, these professionals can confidently address critical areas such as access controls, incident response plans, data encryption, and other measures taken as part of a data security policy to better protect information.

Managing Data Breaches and Compliance

Healthcare information security professionals with an M.L.S. degree can prevent data breaches in healthcare and take the proper measures to report breaches when they occur with their knowledge of breach notification requirements. With the legal expertise gained in an M.L.S. program, these experts can also help organizations mitigate legal and financial consequences associated with data breaches while taking steps to prevent them in the future.

Implementing Healthcare Information Security Measures

For healthcare organizations looking to enhance their own information security, it is crucial to implement proactive measures among employees and teams.

Policy and Training in Preventing Data Breaches

Above all else, healthcare organizations should establish clear and comprehensive policies and procedures for handling all kinds of patient data. This means ongoing educational training for all staff members who have access to this information. With proper training, employees can understand and execute their responsibilities while prioritizing the commitment to protecting patient information.

Technology's Role in Healthcare Information Security

These days, a variety of available technologies can be leveraged to improve healthcare information security (when used properly, of course).

Encryption and Other Technologies for Data Protection

Data encryption remains among the simplest yet effective methods for protecting sensitive information, as data is unreadable without a decryption key even if it is accessed by an unauthorized user.

Other technologies can be used to further enhance healthcare data protection, too, including:

Firewalls
Intrusion detection systems
Multi-factor authentication

Future Trends in Healthcare Information Security Technology

As the field of healthcare information security continues to evolve, emerging technologies will likely shape the future of this industry. Blockchain technology, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning may all be used in the future to enhance data security, privacy, and compliance in a number of ways. For instance, AI is already helping predict and spot signs of a potential security threat before an attack even occurs.

Ethical Considerations in Healthcare Information Security

Healthcare information security professionals must always strike a balance between their legal obligations and ethical considerations, especially as they relate to balancing the need for data access with patient privacy concerns.

Balancing Patient Privacy with Information Sharing Needs

Oftentimes, patient information needs to be shared for research, treatment, and public health purposes. When this occurs, however, patient privacy and confidentiality must still be protected. Healthcare information security professionals should thereby have strong ethical frameworks and decision-making processes in place to balance these competing interests and act appropriately in their everyday work.

Challenges and Opportunities in Healthcare Information Security

Within the field, certain ongoing challenges and opportunities highlight the need for continuous improvement and adaptation among healthcare information security professionals.

Addressing the Skill Gap in Healthcare Cybersecurity

For example, one of the biggest issues is a shortage of qualified professionals in the healthcare security sector. Unfortunately, this can lead to vulnerabilities and an increased risk of breaches within healthcare organizations. Currently, the key to overcoming this skill gap is for organizations to continue providing ongoing training and development to existing staff — as well as focusing their recruitment efforts on attracting top talent.

Ready to Complete Your M.L.S.?

There is no overstating the importance of healthcare information security professionals when it comes to improving the security of sensitive patient information and medical records. However, with all the legal and ethical challenges that accompany working in health information technology, having the right education and training is a must.

An online Master of Legal Studies offered by the University of Miami School of Law helps prepare healthcare information security professionals to face the most prevalent and pressing cybersecurity threats while ensuring compliance with the latest information privacy laws and regulations. Our online M.L.S. curriculum includes specific courses on relevant topics such as HIPAA, managing cyber breaches, healthcare risk management, and much more.

Get in touch to learn more about our online M.L.S. program today, or get started with your application.

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