January 16, 2020
Healthcare technology — which includes everything from medical staff tablets to patient monitoring devices and even prosthetics — is increasingly reliant on an interconnected network. This interconnectedness enables improved patient care, but it also opens the door for added risk. As cyber crime skyrockets across the healthcare industry, one of the nation’s leading home respiratory services and medical equipment providers, Apria Healthcare, recognized the risks early on and implemented Absolute to better secure patient data.
Apria operates more than 300 locations and provides service to 1.8 million patients annually with in-home care and 24/7 clinical services. In order to support home-healthcare — by far the fastest growing healthcare sector due to its potential for improved care at a reduced cost — Apria employees rely heavily on more than 8,000 devices.
Read: Why Data Privacy in Healthcare Matters
To ensure the highest levels of security, protect private and corporate information, and ensure HIPAA compliance, Apria needed a way to track their endpoint devices. They wanted a solution that would deliver zero-touch IT asset management, provide self-healing endpoint security, and employ always-on data visibility and protection. They needed intelligence on every device, with the ability to control every endpoint whether it was on or off their corporate network.
With Absolute Persistence® already installed in the BIOS of their endpoint devices, Apria found unbreakable endpoint visibility and control by simply turning Persistence on. As a result, they now have a reliable, two-way connection to each device and can remotely monitor the status of their devices to avoid a healthcare data breach. They gained critical asset intelligence they could not find with any other security provider.
“Persistence [located] in the BIOS was the number one item that I think really sets Absolute apart from other companies touting that they can do asset tracking better,” said Janet Hunt, Senior Director, IT User Support, at Apria Healthcare. “They really can't, they don't have that piece - that persistent piece is so important to me. I am always looking for opportunity and different technologies as they come up, and I haven't found anything that's as good as Absolute… nothing can compare.”
With Persistence activated on every device, Apria Healthcare is assured that no matter what happens to a device – whether it is lost, stolen, or breached – no one can turn that Persistence off. The device will continue to report back to Apria, who then has the power to wipe a device clean or shut it down even if the user installs a new OS.
Absolute also provides dashboard status on all devices that updates every 15 minutes. With a complete history of the device, security managers can demonstrate encryption, geolocation, usage, and device history. Absolute provides unprecedented asset intelligence, giving healthcare organizations a crystal-clear understanding of the value every asset is delivering to inform security and purchase decisions.
“If Absolute disappeared, I would retire because I would have no idea where anything was,” said Hunt. “That was the greatest thing about bringing Absolute in: I know where a device is.”
To find out how the Apria Healthcare uses Absolute to secure patient information, gain visibility into device location and activity and improve access to patient care in the field, read up on Absolute healthcare solutions.
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