Take a Walk to Take a Data Inventory

By Diane Evans 

This week’s issue of The American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE) Newsletter carries an excellent article about the essential role of vigilance among executive leadership to ensure a culture of safety within healthcare.  

The article, excerpted from the Journal of Healthcare Management, easily extends to the safe handling of private information. 

Data security relies on a culture of vigilance.  That happens when situational awareness becomes second nature throughout an organization, resulting in daily practices to prevent breaches.

Think of it this way:  You can have fabulous IT, but a single employee could open a door into a database by clicking on a malicious email.  Similarly, lapses in network security can and do take systems down.  Consider all the connected equipment within your organization.  Are you securing and segregating networks to the extent possible?  A walk through your facilities could be eye-opening. 

The ACHE article discusses the importance of these kinds of walk-throughs, leading to conversations with staff that empower the “collective mind” to discover and remediate risks. In our field work, our experience is that if you really want to uncover vulnerabilities, ask staff members what they see and what worries them. 

While the ACHE article didn’t specifically address data security, the practice of executive rounding is indeed essential for protecting privacy and data security.    This is a function of risk assessment, and a precursor for initiating daily routines that go far in preventing breaches.  

Other benefits, as the article notes, include:

• Enhanced communication;

• Proactive identification of problems and solutions;

• Staff engagement;

• Continuous improvement. 

  
  

So, next up on your to-do list: Take a walk.

About the author

Diane Evans is founder of Guarded Edge, which offers training and an in-house implementation plan for compliance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) within long-term care.  Diane can be reached at devans@guardededge.com.  She has offered accredited training for state and national organizations, including the Health Care Compliance Association and the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association.

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