There is an array of paper shredders on the market. You can even find them at your local surplus store. But here’s the problem with these shedders—they overheat, they often don’t offer cross-cutting capabilities, and they always seem to become jammed.
If you run a business that deals with delicate and personal information, you should be sure to invest in a shredder that you don’t have to worry about. Understanding how to keep paper medical records secure not only makes you a more careful and conscious professional but helps keep you and your practice from violating HIPPA laws and other serious regulations.
Secure Storage
We are moving into an age of digital filing for safekeeping and more straightforward navigation. However, there are some cases where paper medical records are still necessary. When protecting the information in these records, you need to ensure that the way you store them is secure. Even from behind a counter, what’s stopping an opportunistic wrongdoer from finding a way to nab a file?
Be sure that there isn’t enough personal information on these documents that would allow someone to violate laws. Furthermore, lock all records in a place where it would be next to impossible to obtain them without permission. If you cannot promptly shred documents, consider getting secure lockboxes to submit the materials that need to have destroyed.
Shredding Immediately
Many businesses make the mistake of creating an insecure box or holding area for “to be shredded” documents. It seems silly to be destroying paperwork piecemeal; however, compiling multiple people’s sensitive information is an incident waiting to happen. We hope that we can trust people, but when you leave things unfinished, this data has an opportunity to fall into the wrong hands. Shred files immediately rather than leave them until a more convenient time.
Quality Equipment
When you’re in charge of people’s privacy, they’re putting their trust in you. As such, you have ethical obligations to uphold. Therefore, it’s best to invest in reliable shredding machinery. You don’t want the process to become halted due to another jam or the shredder shutting off because of overheating. Capital Shredder Corp offers various NSA (National Security Agency) approved shedder options that can handle the volume of shredding you need and guarantee privacy.
Using a heavy-duty shredder machine will allow you to keep up with the termination of paper records without worry. Additionally, investing in a high-quality shredding machine will give you more options, such as a shredder that cross-cuts, turning the papers into confetti-like fragments and making it impossible to piece back together.
There’s no excuse for not knowing how to keep paper medical records secure. Capital Shredder has provided an array of options to help you uphold confidentiality within your business. Protect yourself by protecting others’ privacy.
