NYC Health + Hospitals has turned to Accellion for assistance in patient data-related collaboration.
The health system will use Accellion‘s kiteworks platform to ensure physicians can securely share patient data with internal staff and external partners, such as insurance providers and city and state health agencies.
When Investment Rhymes with Canada
Canada has a proud history of achievement in the areas of science and technology, and the field of biomanufacturing and life sciences is no exception.
More specifically, Accellion’s solution is equipped with a plugin for Microsoft Outlook. Through it, NYC Health + Hospitals staff can send protected health information via email. When a sender attaches a PHI file to a message, the email does not contain the exact file. Instead, the email provides a link to the content, which is actually stored in kiteworks. The recipient then must authenticate himself or herself before accessing the file.
Via email, Marianna Prodan, healthcare solutions manager at Accellion, elaborated on what her company can do for the health system. The solution is particularly important, she said, as NYC Health + Hospitals’ network is “the largest in the country.”
“Providing quality care includes being able to share patient information efficiently and timely as a patient moves across the care continuum — from registration to examination and diagnosis to procedures, prescriptions, discharge and billing,” Prodan noted.
NYC Health + Hospitals agrees. In a statement, Soma Bhaduri, its director of information security and risk management, said:
With kiteworks, we can connect to our content repositories from a single platform and share PHI securely with our trusted partners through Outlook — an intuitive interface that our staff uses all day, every day. And because any file accessed or moved through kiteworks is fully auditable, we have valuable insight into all file activity involving PHI and are able to demonstrate compliance with HIPAA. We view these features as critical capabilities and therefore consider Accellion a crucial component to protecting patient data and ensuring patient privacy.
Healthcare isn’t the only industry Accellion assists. The Palo Alto, California-based company provides solutions for the financial services and government sectors as well.
But as Prodan noted, the need for securely sharing data is of particular relevance in healthcare. Hackers have found ways to break into health IT systems, glean the compromised data and sell it on the dark web. But regulations like HIPAA and actions taken by individual hospitals can reinforce the significance of safeguarding such valuable information.
“Data loss can cost these organizations millions of dollars in ransom payments and regulatory fines,” Prodan said. “Accellion provides a solution that significantly reduces the risk of data breaches and compliance violations.”
Photo: coffeekai, Getty Images
