Implementing Third-Party Risk Management in Healthcare
Managing third-party risk in healthcare encompasses foundational principles like those in other industries.
Every company needs to engage in comprehensive planning for TPRM, whether done internally or through external collaborations. While each entity must tailor its approach to suit its unique needs, there are fundamental aspects common to all TPRM practices.
Successful management of third-party risks includes two crucial components:
1) Evaluation
This entails collecting and examining information related to the risks linked with your third-party connections. It allows you to create and implement a strategy to effectively reduce these risks.
2) Mitigation
This stage focuses on implementing both short-term and long-term measures to promptly address existing vulnerabilities and prevent future exposures.
Let’s delve further into each aspect, providing comprehensive insights for better understanding.
Third-Party Risk Evaluation
Let’s start the groundwork here. During this phase, a company must gather data about its vendors and their access to digital assets and networks. This includes:
- Identifying all vendors, suppliers, and third parties with resource access.
- Categorizing third parties based on internal governance and relationship.
- Evaluating the cybersecurity infrastructure of all third parties.
- Recognizing strengths and weaknesses.
- Identifying current and potential vulnerabilities.
- Monitoring changes in third-party cybersecurity practices, such as new additions or removals of resources, training, and regulatory compliance.
A thorough TPRM Questionnaire proves crucial in efficient data collection and is often done by creating and distributing it to all potential vendors.
TPRM Questionnaire for Healthcare Organizations
This stage is critical as it involves gathering pertinent information from vendors. It’s important to verify all self-reported data for accuracy, as vendors may inadvertently or deliberately provide inaccurate information.
Ensuring that the data collected through your questionnaire is well-structured for analysis and planning is crucial. This involves making sure the information is consistent and can be organized easily. One approach is to align your question language with established standards like compliance guidelines or security protocols set by organizations such as NIST or ISO.
Beaconer has created a comprehensive TPRM questionnaire. Get it here.
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Third-Party Risk Management Remediation
This is where the real action begins. The initial step in a successful TPRM strategy is the assessment phase, which is vital for effectively addressing identified risks.
It is essential to tailor a TPRM strategy to meet the unique needs of each company. There are fundamental practices that form the basis of all TPRM approaches. During the Remediation phase, companies can:
- Establish new partnerships with clear expectations.
- Take immediate actions to minimize exposure to risks.
- Retrieve and secure compromised resources.
- Address identified weaknesses with vendors.
- Strategize for future vendor relationships to prevent future risks.
These fundamental practices are applicable across various industries and company sizes, including healthcare, which may necessitate additional customized measures.
Developing a Comprehensive Approach to TPRM in Healthcare
As highlighted earlier, healthcare institutions face unique challenges regarding third-party risk management due to the sensitive nature of patient information. Hence, tailoring your TPRM strategy to your specific needs becomes imperative.
At the forefront is the onboarding process, which gains heightened importance in the healthcare sector. Given the criticality of safeguarding Protected Health Information (PHI), meticulous upfront screening of clients is essential to mitigate potential risks proactively.
During the assessment and remediation phases, regulatory compliance becomes paramount for healthcare professionals overseeing TPRM.
How Beaconer Assists Healthcare Organizations in Meeting TPRM Necessities
Beaconer provides extensive AI tool for assessing Cyber risks to healthcare organizations, aiding in the identification and mitigation of cybersecurity vulnerabilities while supporting programs for managing third-party risks. The system offers Managed Third-Party Risk Management to assess the security effectiveness of either users or their suppliers. Utilizing the assessment reports, practical workflows can be developed to minimize attack surfaces and bolster security measures.
Specifically tailored for healthcare providers, Beaconer underscores the following aspects:
- Tailored Assessment: The scope of the third-party risk assessments can be modified according to the requirements of the healthcare organizations.
- Comprehensive TPRM Questionnaire: Beaconer has developed an extensive questionnaire for Third-Party Risk Management (TPRM) tailored to address all potential risks specific to healthcare companies.
- Compliance with Healthcare Regulations: Ensure the protection of confidential clinical and patient data against contemporary cyber threats and ransomware attacks.
- Managed Third Party Risk Management: Beaconer’s solution delivers a tailored TPRM program through its automated assessment platform, easing compliance responsibilities and ensuring vendors meet security, privacy, and other standards
