White Papers for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

ROI Case StudyY Proofpoint Dekalb Medical Center

Proofpoint

Proofpoint security software has enabled DeKalb Medical Center to comply with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations governing protected health information (PHI), and also reduce
the amount of spam and viruses that enters its network.

DeKalb Medical Center is a not-for-profit hospital center that provides services to over 500,000 patients annually in the metropolitan Atlanta, Georgia area. The center operates three medical facilities with a combined capacity of over 600 acute care beds, and employs more than 4,000 medical, nursing, and support staff.

THE CHALLENGE
DeKalb Medical Center conducted a security audit to determine its ability to comply with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations pertaining to patient privacy. HIPAA policy requires that protected health information (PHI) data — which includes information on a patient’s condition, treatment, and payment method — must be encrypted when it is sent electronically.
The audit concluded that patient confidentiality could be compromised as outbound e-mail could send out unencrypted data. As the penalties for releasing data to the wrong party could result in fines starting at $25,000 per occurrence, DeKalb Medical Center needed a system that could eliminate that risk. In addition to the outbound e-mail security issue, the organization also sought a solution to protect its inbound e-mail from viruses and other threats.

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