As technology becomes more pervasive, one of the critical issues compromising privacy and security is the risk of simple mistakes such as failing to log out or oversharing personal information.
The National Library of Medicine: National Center for Biotechnology Information (NLM-NCBI) warns that privacy and confidentiality breaches can have significant detrimental effects on individuals, impacting their dignity and potentially causing harm. Subsequently, without the assurance of privacy, individuals may hesitate to share sensitive information with their physicians, that is the reason why Medicare doctors proposed consent forms for their clients including the privacy and confidentiality it entails. By doing so, a more productive, meaningful, and honest communication channel will be established by the physician toward the patient, ultimately contributing to quality-based primary care.
Ensuring the safety of your privacy is not solely the responsibility of those around you, like your physicians; it is also your responsibility to take proactive measures to protect it.
Here Are Some Tips to Protect Your Privacy in Using Technology for Primary Care for Seniors
Select a Trusted Provider
It is important that you know how to select the perfect companion for you to help you attain your goals, as well as select the right health clinics where to acquire adult primary care in which you will entrust your information. To do so, you must ensure that the primary care provider values its patients, is reputable, and utilises trusted online platforms for communication, appointment scheduling, and medical record storage, like HIPAA-compliant forms. You must also look for an organization that values you as a patient and your privacy, as well as a wide range of security measures that are implemented.
To do this, you must be able to ensure that the primary care provider values their patient, they must be reputable and utilizes trusted online platforms to perform communication, scheduling or appointment, and storing the medical records. You must look for an organization that values you as a patient and your privacy, and a wide range of security measures that take place.
While some organizations merely perform their duties for payment, choosing a trusted and reputable provider will safeguard your identity. Identity theft and misuse of your personal data is a threat for seniors, they can be subject to falsely utilizing the technology, and they can easily be deceived by hackers and cybercriminals, having the right organization to look after you is an important aspect to look at.
Secure Passwords
Whenever you create a new Google account, they always ask you to choose a strong password that includes a capital letter, a number, at least 8-16 digits, and a special digit. When utilizing technology in primary care, always use strong and unique passwords to prevent hackers from quickly accessing your account. You must not use your name, birth date, or popular words linked with the organization or your last name as your password.
Instead, try using the Google format to create a password that includes numbers, symbols, a special digit, a capital letter, and at least 8-15 digits, depending on the website’s criteria. Consider using a password that you can easily remember, and utilize password management to securely keep track of your passwords and avoid forgetting them.
In cases where your phone or device gets stolen, if the thief accesses the website or application, they can easily retrieve your information and misuse it, including accessing your credit cards, leading to identity theft. This term is an act of stealing someone’s identity to be used for illegal acts such as stealing and any heinous act.
Enable Two-Factor Authentication, Often Known as 2FA
There is occasionally an option to enable two-factor authentication, that enables the application or website to transmit an alert or key to your sim card whenever someone tries to access it. This adds an extra layer of security to your account, and a verification step, allowing you to feel more safe and secure about the information you have put on the website which is directly for your primary care provider only.
Be Cautious With Sharing Personal Information
Sometimes, when a website displays advertisements, there is a tendency to click on them and proceed. It is a hokum that pushes the user or the patient to sign up and input their information, however, you must only focus on the website of the health care clinics. You must only provide and fill in the essential personal information when registering for online services, and filling out medical forms. You can ask yourself questions like, “Will this be really needed in providing care or not?”
Fraud is a significant concern for senior users of technology, as they can be easily deceived by impostors. It will be easy for the frauds to steal some important information if the users are seniors and mostly adults. With the patient’s narrow knowledge of technology, the frauds can retrieve and retrieve all the information of the patient, and use it in ways that are illegal.
Have a Secured Wi-Fi
One of the reasons why hackers can hack your personal information is because you may have been using unsecured or public WiFi. According to Forbes, over 40% of the participants in their research in the United States had their personal data compromised when utilizing free wireless Internet access. So, one thing you can do is make sure that the internet connection you’re using is safe whenever you exchange personal information or communicate with your primary care physician online.
One of the ways cybercriminals hack into accounts is by exploiting unsecured public WiFi. If your internet connection is not secure, hackers can easily steal and misuse your information.
Keep Your Devices and Software up to Date
Keeping your device and software up to date when it comes to the latest security patches and bugs will help you protect your information. Regular updates will ensure and help you fix all the vulnerabilities that can be used by hackers or cybercriminals.
Review the Policies (Privacy)
Some people tend to skip over the part where they check the box on understanding the terms and agreement, as well as the policy, however having a comprehensive understanding of the policies of these online services and platforms for primary care for seniors can help you protect your privacy. You can read the policy to see if they comply with the highest form of protection in the field of medicine– the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) which protects your data, and personal information to avoid privacy breaches.
To Sum Up
By following these recommendations while using technology and online services for primary care, you can significantly enhance the privacy and security of your medical information. Remember that data protection is an ongoing process, so be alert and take the necessary precautions. The term ‘quality-based primary care’ refers not only to providing primary care for elders but also to ensuring that no information entrusted to and delivered by these institutions is leaked, as it may harm the patient in various ways.