The View From NCS Technologies

When it comes to IT in healthcare, the HIMSS conference is the gold standard for healthcare trade shows. This year, HIMSS16 will be held February 29- March 4 in Las Vegas at the Sands Expo and Convention Center, and will be hosting over 40,000 attendees, including clinicians, speakers, and vendors. HIMSS16 boasts more than 300 educational programs and will showcase cutting-edge technology available to the healthcare sector.  NCS Technologies will be at HIMSS16, and will have experts ready to discuss all IT healthcare security concerns at Booth #11118.

IT administrators in healthcare tell us they are are focused on making computing more secure, more reliable, less complex and more cost effective - goals that make sense to everyone. 

Healthcare workers rely on computers and networking in nearly every aspect of their jobs. Patient records and scheduling need to be kept up to date and secure. Imagery such as MRIs and X-rays need to be available and accessed from distant servers. Doctors and nurses are constantly on the move and frequently use carts to bring mobile computing - and the latest patient information - directly into each patient area.

While NCS Technologies is known for providing a wide variety of computing solutions to government, the military and the intelligence community, healthcare providers are among the most persistent visitors to our website.

Just back from a whirlwind week at HIMMS 2015!  While hospitals and other healthcare organizations have been early adopters of our Cirrus LT mobile zero client laptop, I went to Chicago this week a little uncertain about how widely adoption of VDI technology might occur.  By the afternoon of opening day, all of my uncertainty was gone.  We showed off Cirrus LT and gave a sneak peak of Cirrus DT WiFi, the latest addition to the NCS Technologies PCoIP mobile zero client family.

NCS is active at HIMSS15 this week, Booth 7661, McCornick Place, Chicago! HIMSS15 is the industry's largest healthcare event.

We are featuring a range of solutions applicable to healthcare, including desktop and mobile zero clients, virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) and mobile computer cart technologies.

VDI and desktop virtualization are increasingly being considered as an important tool as data breaches continue to be discovered in the healthcare industry.

Organizations Are Vulnerable and Damage Is Expensive 

The reality is that healthcare providers of all sizes are vulnerable. Hospitals are especially targeted and in need of strong security. Beyond loss of business and legal action, there is also the inevitable damage to reputation and brand, and the lost productivity of implementing forensics, remediation and regulatory compliance (HIPAA Privacy and HIPAA Security rules). In short, this an expensive nightmare that can and should be avoided.

Virtual and Mobile Solutions Will Help

Innovative NCS solutions featured at Booth 7661 address these issues.

VDI and desktop virtualization are increasingly being considered as an important tool as data breaches continue to be discovered in the healthcare industry.

Everyone has heard about the breach involving Anthem, Inc., the second biggest health insurer in the U.S. It affects some 80 million customers and employees and is said to be the largest hack to a healthcare entity ever. Either you personally are affected or you know someone who is.

But Anthem isn't alone. Just in the past year, there are many other healthcare organizations reporting sizable breaches. They include Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, Texas Health and Human Services, and Community Health Systems, to name a few.

Organizations of All Sizes Are Vulnerable

The reality is that healthcare providers of all sizes are vulnerable. Hospitals are especially targeted and in need of strong security.

I found a recent news item especially interesting in this context. According to a TransUnion Healthcare report, more than half of recent hospital patients are willing to switch healthcare providers if their current provider undergoes a data breach. And the younger you are (and likely more savvy about computers and the internet), the more likely you are to ditch your provider for poor performance.

The Damage to Organizations Is Immediate -- and Expensive 

Data breaches are painful for everyone. Looking at the healthcare provider, if the organization is large enough, class-action lawsuits may be filed in the first 24 hours after public notification. But beyond the courtroom, there is also the inevitable damage to reputation and brand, and the lost productivity of implementing forensics, remediation and regulatory compliance (HIPAA Privacy and HIPAA Security rules). In short, this an expensive nightmare that can and should be avoided. 

IT administrators must consider all the places in the network where Protected Health Information (PHI) and electronic PHI (ePHI) are gathered and stored. Strategies for protecting the datacenter can be implemented at the server but the challenge remains about keeping ahead of threats at the desktop level.

Zero Clients Help Solve the Data Breach Puzzle

One of the most promising approaches involves protecting sensitive information with zero clients at the end point. Healthcare providers are constantly accessing sensitive patient records with very personal information.  Zero clients allow you to enable a remote or mobile worker and still comply with HIPAA, PHI and ePHI by restricting the ability to download and store data locally.  Nothing stored, nothing lost.

VDI and desktop virtualization are being implemented for many reasons these days, including strong security. Outside of the obvious needs in government, the intelligence community and the military, is there a need for desktop-virtualization-based strong security in the enterprise, such as healthcare and finance?

The short answer is, yes!  I have encountered a number of people who ask me “Who, besides intelligence agencies and military, really needs the level of strong security zero clients offer?”  Admittedly, I had the same question when we first began development work on our own zero client products, such as the Cirrus LT zero client laptop.  Fact is, there are many industries which are severely impacted by data theft every day.  More and more often we hear about security breaches and data leaks with catastrophic consequences.

Consider the healthcare industry.  Healthcare providers are constantly accessing sensitive patient records with very personal information.  Zero clients allow you to enable a remote or mobile worker and still comply with HIPAA, PHI and ePHI by restricting the ability to download and store data locally.  Nothing stored, nothing lost.