America's Health Insurance Plans' board of directors and CMOs issued guidance to payers on protecting patient data as the landscape continues to adopt virtual tools and solutions.
The organization released both a list of guiding priorities and a roadmap for increasing cybersecurity protections on member information.
Five things payers should consider:
1. Patients should have easy access both to their own data, as well as to how it may be shared. The group encouraged payers to empower members with that information in clear, concise ways.
2. Whether it be patients, providers or payers, information must be secured and aligned with HIPAA or similar requirements.
3. Payers should collect and use demographic information — including race, ethnicity, gender identity and more — to address health disparities.
4. Any third-party digital tools used by a payer should abide by the same high standards for information security as the payer has for itself.
5. While HIPAA bars the sale of an individual's identifiable healthcare information, some digital tools are not subject to the same guidelines. Payers should ensure tools they use, even those not subject to HIPAA, still adhere to the same protective guidelines to maximize information security.