October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and protecting patient data has never been more critical.  Medical practices are top targets for cyberattacks, and even a single breach can disrupt care, trigger HIPAA penalties, and erode patient trust.  Learn the five essential steps every Michigan medical practice should take to safeguard Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and Protected Health Information (PHI)— and how to get a free SensCy Score to measure your cyber readiness.  Protecting patient data is more than compliance — it’s a professional obligation.  Cyberattacks against health care organizations continue to rise, targeting sensitive PII and PHI.  Here are five cybersecurity steps every medical practice should take:

Make Cybersecurity a Strategic Priority
Cybersecurity is not merely IT work — it’s a governance and patient-safety issue.  Leadership and managing physicians should make cyber risk a standing agenda item.  Document your security policies, perform regular risk assessments, and ensure cybersecurity budgets and decisions are reviewed at the executive level.  A top-down mandate sends a clear signal: protecting patient information is nonnegotiable.

Train Staff to Spot Social Engineering
Over 80% of data breaches start with human error.  For instance, phishing emails may masquerade as insurance claims, lab results, or patient requests.  Provide frequent training, run simulated phishing campaigns, and teach staff to pause and verify before clicking attachments or links.  Reinforce that a single misstep could expose PHI across your network.

Foster a Practice-Wide Cyber Awareness Culture
Safety in health care depends on a culture of vigilance.  Conduct regular training, simulate tabletop breach response exercises (e.g. what if a laptop with PHI is stolen?), and share stories of real healthcare breaches to build awareness.  Encourage every team member — from receptionists to nurses to billing staff — to see cybersecurity as part of their role in protecting patients.

Patch Promptly and Consistently
Every software system you use — EMR/EHR platforms, medical imaging viewers, practice management, billing modules — must stay current.  Vulnerabilities are constantly discovered, and attackers often exploit known flaws.  Define a patch policy (e.g. apply critical patches within 24 hours), use automated patching tools, and assign accountability.  Delayed updates in a healthcare environment can lead to system outages or unauthorized access to PHI.

Maintain Robust, Tested Backups
Ransomware is a severe threat to medical practices — patient data can be encrypted, operations halted, and extortion demanded.  Employ a 3-2-1 backup strategy (three copies, on two types of storage, one offsite) with encryption and versioning.  Crucially, test recovery regularly.  A backup that can’t be restored is as useless as no backup.  Isolate backups off the same network so ransomware cannot reach them.

In medicine, breaches aren’t just financial risks — they are threats to patient confidentiality, compliance with HIPAA and state law, and the trust your patients place in you.  A cyberattack can force you to report to HHS OCR, face penalties, notify patients, and endure reputational harm.  By embedding these five practices, you reduce exposure and demonstrate due diligence and professional responsibility.

Take the Next Step: Get Your SensCy Score

Ready to quantify your practice’s cyber posture?  As a preferred partner, SensCy is offering a free SensCy Score cybersecurity assessment.  Receiving your SensCy Score is a critical milestone in making your practice safer — and more resilient to threats. Protecting patient data is fundamental to the mission of medicine.  Start now — schedule your SensCy Score today.

Protecting your Practice – Cyber Liability Insurance from MSMS PIA

Cyber liability insurance has become an essential component to protect your physician practice.  Benefits include: 

• Data breach coverage
• Business interruption/loss reimbursement
• Cyber extortion defense
• Forensic support
• Legal support

Cyber exposures continue to escalate. Be prepared when you are targeted. To learn more about cyber liability insurance or to review your current coverage, contact Angela Criswell at MSMS Physicians Insurance Agency at 517-336-5734 or acriswell@msms.org.