Protecting Patient Information Without Distracting From Patient Care

The Stakes

In Healthcare, the Stakes Are Different

For this Nebraska healthcare organization, technology follows care wherever it happens.

Caregivers use it in clients' homes. Nurses rely on it while providing and documenting care. Office employees depend on it for communication, operations and access to the information they need to do their jobs.

That technology makes the work possible.

It also carries an important responsibility: protecting sensitive information.

In healthcare, cybersecurity isn't simply about keeping computers running. It's about protecting the information patients and clients trust an organization to safeguard.

The organization understood that responsibility.

It needed a technology environment—and a technology partner—capable of supporting it.

Thinking You're Secure Isn't the Same as Knowing

Before ECS, employees believed their technology environment was secure.

But warning signs created uncertainty.

Employees received suspicious emails and messages impersonating company leadership. Some involved fraudulent requests related to payroll information. In another instance, an employee received a message instructing them to purchase gift cards.

Employees recognized and reported suspicious activity, but they didn't feel like the underlying concerns were being resolved.

“I thought our network was secure...”

Over time, those experiences made employees question whether the protections they assumed were in place actually were.

For a healthcare organization entrusted with sensitive information, assumptions weren't enough.

They wanted greater confidence in the technology supporting their organization.

Security Is More Than Technology

Protecting healthcare information doesn't come down to a single cybersecurity product.

Technology matters. So do processes. And people.

The organization already took a thoughtful approach to controlling access to information. Employees were given different levels of access depending on their responsibilities.

Caregivers didn't automatically have access to every client's information. Office employees had different permissions based on their roles. Administrative access was limited to those who actually needed it.

“We're very strategic and specific about the access that people have.”

Working with ECS added another layer to that approach.

Instead of waiting for something to go wrong, the organization now has an IT partner helping manage and monitor its technology environment, maintain systems and identify areas that may need attention.

“You guys are constantly monitoring all of our systems and making sure that everything is up to date.”

The Confidence Shift

From Uncertainty to Greater Confidence

Cybersecurity risk doesn't disappear because an organization changes IT providers.

But the organization's confidence in how that risk is being addressed has changed.

Employees know there is a team paying attention to the technology environment.

And when ECS identifies something that could be improved, the conversation isn't avoided.

That transparency matters.

Because a technology partner shouldn't simply tell leadership everything is fine.

It should help the organization understand potential risks, identify improvements and make informed decisions about what comes next.

For this organization, that's created greater confidence as it continues to grow.

“I feel like we're more confident now, and we know that we can take our business to the next level just because our information is being protected.”

Employees Are Part of the Defense

Technology is only one part of cybersecurity.

The people using it every day matter just as much.

Employees receive ongoing security awareness training and phishing simulations designed to help them recognize suspicious activity.

And that awareness is changing behavior.

Instead of wondering what to do with a questionable message—or simply clicking it—employees are becoming more comfortable escalating potential threats.

“If we see something that doesn't look like it should belong to us… we're more comfortable sending [it] to support or just marking [it] as phishing.”

Security is becoming something employees participate in rather than something that happens somewhere behind the scenes.

The technology partner and the organization's employees each have a role to play.

The Outcome

Healthcare Employees Get to Be Healthcare Employees

There's another benefit to having someone responsible for the technology and security environment: everyone else gets their time back.

Without the right support, technology problems have a way of landing on whoever happens to be nearby.

A nurse shouldn't have to become the IT department. Neither should finance. Neither should marketing.

“They don't have that as their expertise.”

Their expertise belongs elsewhere.

For this organization, having ECS support its technology allows employees to spend more time doing the work they were actually hired to do.

Protecting What Matters Takes the Right Partner

Healthcare organizations carry technology responsibilities that extend beyond everyday IT support.

Sensitive information has to be protected. Access has to be thoughtfully managed. Employees need to understand their role. Technology needs to be maintained. And organizations need people who understand the security expectations surrounding healthcare.

“Healthcare in itself… has just so many different levels of compliance and levels of security.”

That's also why evaluating an IT provider solely on price can miss the bigger picture.

Her advice to another healthcare organization was straightforward: the cost of choosing someone who doesn't understand those responsibilities can be far greater than the initial savings.

“You're gonna have a way bigger headache than if you were to go with like the cheaper IT person who may not know all of the regulations that comes with healthcare.”

Protect the Information. Support the People.

Healthcare technology should help employees provide care—not give them one more thing to worry about.

ECS helps healthcare organizations strengthen their technology environments, support cybersecurity efforts and make informed technology decisions with the responsibilities of healthcare in mind.

So healthcare professionals can spend less time worrying about technology—and more time with the patients, clients and caregivers who depend on them.

Protect what matters. Spend Time on What Matters.