Focus on security, privacy important in medical field

Healthcare employers are looking for medical assistants who have professional training in clinical and administrative duties of a medical facility, along with workers who understand the importance of patient privacy and security.

A recent Time magazine article reported that the FBI “says healthcare providers have particularly lax security systems” and that “healthcare data sold on the black market can be even more valuable than credit-card numbers because it can help hackers access bank accounts or get prescription drugs.”

Medical assistances don’t have a hand in creating healthcare security systems, but this Time report underscores the importance of having a medical facility that values security and privacy.

“In a private message sent to health care providers earlier this month, the FBI warned that the health care industry has especially lax data-security systems and is particularly vulnerable to cyberattacks compared with other sectors,” Time reported.

The FBI memo referred to by Time also said the healthcare industry is behind many other industries that also have to pay attention to cyberattacks and security.

“The healthcare industry is not as resilient to cyber intrusions compared to the financial and retail sectors, therefore the possibility of increased cyber intrusions is likely,” the FBI said in a memo obtained by Reuters.

“A spate of recent cybersecurity failures at major retail institutions, most notably Target, have inspired the retail and financial sectors to shore up security,” Times reported. “The health sector, however, has been slower to adopt sufficient cybersecurity measures.”

“I’m really happy to see the FBI doing this,” said Shane Shook, an executive with a private cybersecurity firm that contracts with organizations to help them respond when their systems are breached. “It’s nice to see the attention.”

In an article for Forbes Magazine, Ilya Pozin writes that healthcare employers must continue to seek out newly trained workers in order to stay up-to-date with the changes taking place in the medical industry.

“So much of the healthcare business is based on trust and relationships, more so than in other industries, because you are dealing with people’s’ personal health information as well as their access to care,” Pozin writes. “You must hire team members with a track record in healthcare, for their experience and their rolodex. But balance your team with young and hungry talent that is ambitious, diehard, and fearless when it comes to solving huge problems. As for attracting top tier talent? Be prepared to get creative with compensation packages – If you’re idea is good enough, people will come on board for equity.”

Employers are seeking thousands of new medical assistants, but they are especially interested in those who have completed a quality training program like the one at A Technical College.

If you have always had an interest in working in the medical field, then becoming a medical assistant could be the right fit for you and there has hardly been a better time to seek professional medical assistant training from a school like a Technical College than right now. A Technical College’s medical assistant training program teaches students the ins and outs of the profession, including assisting with examinations, obtaining vital signs, performing office laboratory procedures and a variety of other tasks today’s healthcare employers require from medical assistants.

Healthcare employers are looking for medical assistants who have up-to-date training an understand the new processes and systems that the industry requires. Many medical assistants work in administration and the new RCM systems are changing the way medical assistants are required to do their job.

A Technical College’s medical office professional training program is one of the best ways to secure a career in the healthcare industry with relevant and up-to-date training and experience. However, medical assistants are required to possess a lot of different skills ranging from administrative oversight to specific clinical administrative tasks, and those skills are changing every year as the medical industry continues to change. These positions require workers that are experts on patient data and can communicate effectively with doctors, nurses and other healthcare providers.