Along with the convenience of working in a virtual environment comes the risk of cyber intrusion. The more dentists rely on technology to communicate with and about their patients, the more vulnerable they may be to a network intrusion, a ransomware attack, or a data breach. There are several areas of exposure for a dental office, and MDA or MDA Insurance has safeguards for each of those areas.

Network intrusions and data breaches are among the most common threats facing dentists. Server-based practice management systems represent rich targets of Protected Health Information (PHI) and Protected Personal Information (PPI) of a financial nature. The loss of a mobile device or USB drive containing legally protected data is one of the most common HIPAA violations. Insecure servers and servers that are not properly backed up off site can be serious threats to your practice’s survival.

MDA Insurance offers Beazley Breach Response (BBR) Select to insure dentists against the economic fall-out from cyber intrusions and data breaches. The BBR Select policy addresses every aspect of a data breach scenario, from notification, to credit monitoring and reputation management. It provides legal liability coverage for theft, loss, or unauthorized disclosure of personally identifiable, non-public information or third-party corporate information that is in the care, custody, or control of the insured organization, or an independent contractor that is holding, processing, or transferring such information on behalf of the insured.

All policyholders are immediately enrolled in the Data Security Risk management program. This provides unlimited access to online compliance materials, newsletters, and instant alerts, along with expert support and much more. This provides the tools and knowledge you need to keep your systems secure. Call Melanie Adler at 800-860-2272, ext. 464, for more information and to get a quote, which is generally about $480 per year, per insured full-time dentist.

Theft of PHI while in transit via e-mail is a real threat. The MDA endorses iCoreExchange, a secure email solution that complies with all six mandates for full HIPAA compliance and can send files of unlimited size. It provides a single sign- on to access your AOL, Gmail, Hotmail or Yahoo email accounts as well. Protect your practice from email interception and potential HIPAA fines by calling iCoreExchange at 888-810-7706.

Accepting credit card payments exposes your practice to payment card industry (PCI) compliance regulations. Failure to be PCI-compliant and complete a PCI compliance survey annually can result in additional fees and expenses for your practice. The MDA endorses Best Card for credit card processing services. Best Card has dramatically simplified the PCI compliance process. The card processor also saves members and average of 24%, about $3,256 annually, in processing fees. Call the Best Card team at 877-739-3952 to get a price comparison and learn more