In order to provide prompt and effective patient care, today’s health care providers must carefully balance their patients’ demand for privacy and the need for doctors and other staff members to have access to patient information. Health care providers must make sure that patient records are not only accurate and available when needed, but that they are also confidential and protected against unauthorized access.
As organizations increasingly provide comprehensive health care — often at multiple locations with a variety of health care workers — they must find ways to store and share patient records while keeping them secure. In response to these needs, many health care organizations have formal health care information security policies and practices to protect patients’ medical records.
This includes the development of health care information security departments, managers and third-party vendors. Aspiring professionals in this space can gain the health care industry and information security knowledge needed to tackle these modern challenges with the online Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Healthcare Management program from Florida Institute of Technology.
Medical Identity Theft Can Have Serious Consequences
Health care information security not only protects patients against a loss of privacy with their medical records, but it also protects them against identity theft. In addition to potential adverse impacts to patients’ credit scores, medical identity theft can have far more serious consequences, including the temporary or permanent loss of insurance coverage due to fraudulent or excessive claims. This may result in large out-of-pocket expenditures or a delay in receiving care.
Identity thieves may exceed the lifetime maximum insurance benefits, leaving patients with no coverage when they need it. Unfortunately, these insurance issues aren’t usually discovered until the patient seeks medical care. Far more serious is the possibility that a patient’s medical records could become corrupted with erroneous information, which could cause misdiagnosis or mistreatment. In some cases, even after health care administrators, insurance agencies and patients resolve the immediate identity theft issues, patients can face increased health insurance premiums.
Careers in Health Care Information Security
Careers in health care information security can include lower-level positions, such as medical records specialists, health information technicians and other information technology professionals. Higher-level information security careers in health care can range from senior management to executive-level positions.
Medical records specialists enter, organize and manage health information data. They are often responsible for making sure that records are accurate. They may also monitor records access and security for paper and electronic systems. They attach classification codes to assign patient information to specific categories for insurance filing and reimbursement purposes, for medical databases and registries, and to maintain patients’ medical histories, including treatments and procedures.
Health information technology workers develop or deploy security measures for electronic records, including databases and registries. They may also monitor access to those records.
Senior-level information security management professionals are often in charge of developing, implementing, and managing health care security policies and protocols, as well as addressing any breaches or potential breaches in security. In addition to applicable experience, candidates for senior level positions often have advanced degrees, such as an MBA in health care management. These management professionals work with other leaders in areas like operations, informatics and health care analytics to ensure cohesive health care information security practices across the organization.
Employment Outlook for Health Care Information Security Careers
The health care management industry as a whole continues to grow, and demand for positions in health care information security is also on the rise. As the population continues to age, the need for health care workers will increase as more people require tests, treatments and procedures. This, in turn, will generate more medical records, which will result in the need for more medical records technicians to enter and manage the associated information.
Health care information security professionals could be classified under a number of occupations, as categorized by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Three such occupations would be medical records specialists, information security analysts, and medical and health services managers. BLS projects employment growth for these occupational groups from 2023 to 2033 will be as follows:
Medical records specialists: 9%
Information security analysts: 33%
Medical and health services managers: 29%
Notably, both information security analysts and medical and health services managers are among the fastest growing occupations in the country. At the intersection of these two fields, health care information security managers should see excellent career opportunities in the coming years.
Plus, these jobs come with excellent pay, with median 2023 salaries for both occupations exceeding $100,000, according to BLS. For those interested in working in this high-paying and rapidly growing field, earning an MBA in Healthcare Management from Florida Tech can provide the managerial, health care industry and information management expertise needed to excel in upper-level health care information security positions.
Learn more about Florida Tech’s online MBA in Healthcare Management program.
