In 2017, the average cost of a healthcare data breach was $380 per record, with 90% of the industry experiencing a data breach

(Ponemon Institute, 2017 Cost of a Data Breach Study: Global Overview)

Healthcare data breaches are placing enormous pressure on the industry. Threats include Insider threats, with 58% of protected health information (PHI) being affected by both malicious and accidental insider breaches, and ransomware – with the number of ransomware attacks against U.S healthcare organizations increasing by 89%, and the use of insecure public messaging apps that can leak patient data.

Smart healthcare begins with smart data control
Over 80% of medical practitioner use smartphones at work – communicating via a mobile consumer-messaging app offers convenience for a heavy workload. The community that makes up healthcare is wide and disparate. Communication occurs across many platforms, with healthcare professionals collaborating with colleagues, exchanging patient information between specialists and departments, and between medical associates. Healthcare presents mobile messaging apps with the challenge of protecting excessive amounts of patient data. Unless apps and collaboration platforms are secured using encryption and robust authentication, patient data will be exposed to attack.

Collaboration platforms and messaging apps offer the healthcare sector many benefits. These messaging apps can be used to speed up the sharing of patient data to improve patient outcomes. They can provide better patient interaction with the health service and help to build better patient-caregiver relationships. Mobile messaging can also offer a more seamless and quicker way for teams to collaborate. However, messaging must be secure and offer granular levels of access control to groups of users to be effective and achieve the necessary compliance.