The Importance of Data Destruction in Healthcare Fields

Most healthcare facilities have moved to digital patient records as technology has advanced, but doing so has made those records less secure. If healthcare data is not properly disposed of when your facility upgrades to new computers, you’re putting patient privacy at risk and legally jeopardizing your organization. Here’s what you need to know about the importance of data destruction in healthcare fields.

Protect Patient Privacy

Due to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, also known as HIPAA, protecting patient privacy is the top priority for healthcare facilities. If patient data falls into the wrong hands, you could risk exposing patient information such as social security numbers, credit and debit card numbers, confidential health information, addresses, phone numbers, and more.

It’s not always enough to just destroy this data on your own, however. HIPAA has specific requirements when it comes to the methods of acceptable destruction and how to document your processes.

Opt for a Data Destruction Company

A qualified data destruction company can properly dispose of old hard drives and computers in a way that’s safe for the environment and also destroys your patient records, ensuring that they are unrecoverable.

ProTek offers on-site data destruction so your data never has to leave your sight before it is destroyed. We also offer an e-waste pickup service if you would prefer to remove old equipment and then have us transport it to our facility for recycling and data destruction. We also offer thorough documentation of our processes to ensure HIPAA compliance for our clients.

Call Today!

At ProTek Recycling, we specialize in confidential, HIPAA-compliant data destruction. We serve many locations throughout the Northeast, including New York City and upstate New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, the Boston metropolitan area, and more. Give us a call at 844‑777‑6835 to see what we can do for you.