Key takeaways
- Secure healthcare data starts at intake. As soon as patient information is entered into a digital system, it begins moving through interconnected infrastructure.
- Healthcare data in “the cloud” resides in physical facilities with strict access controls. These data centres are built to withstand myriad disruptions.
- Strong data protection requires layered, always-on safeguards. Protect data in transit and at rest through encryption, access controls, and continuous monitoring for ongoing compliance standards.
Healthcare relies on patients trusting their providers. This includes the management of highly personal data.
From intake, patients expect their data is secure in the hands of providers. Today, 89% of Canadians are at least somewhat concerned about the protection of their privacy. Health authorities must meet the highest data security standards to fulfill patient expectations.
There are robust digital systems upholding data security—but how do they work?
It’s imperative that healthcare professionals across the care continuum understand data security, because patient trust relies on their authority. This means appreciating what happens to healthcare data behind the scenes, as well as recognizing why well-designed infrastructure matters for every care organization.
Read on to explore key security concepts supporting your healthcare operation success.
Safeguards required to protect healthcare data
Cyberattacks cost healthcare organizations more than other groups—15.1M CAD per attack on average—and nearly double the cost faced by financial organizations. Total healthcare records breached increased by 9% from 2023 to 2024.
This makes strong safeguards critical to healthcare organizations’ missions and credibility. When correctly applied, data protection is layered on top of cloud networking and data centres to ensure information remains confidential, accurate, and accessible only to authorized users.
These protections work together to reduce risk across the entire data lifecycle.
Moreover, healthcare data must be protected both while it is moving between systems and while stored. This includes:
- Encrypting information “in transit” so it can’t be read if intercepted
- Securing stored data so it remains inaccessible without authorization
- Continuously monitoring systems so unusual activity is detected
Healthcare data protection is guided by laws, regulations, and professional standards. Secure systems are designed to support accountability for data access and ongoing assessments and improvements. These practices reinforce compliance as an ongoing responsibility supported by strong infrastructure.
In summary: Protecting healthcare data requires layered safeguards that control access and support compliance. Together, these measures ensure patient information remains confidential.
The Quebec government redirects 800+ patients daily to more appropriate care.
From patient to cloud: How data is created
Every piece of digital healthcare data starts at the point of care. This could be a physician entering visit notes, a receptionist confirming patient details, or a billing team submitting a claim.
When data is created, it transmits to systems that store it, processes it, and makes it available to authorized users. This must be done securely. The movement happens almost instantly and is powered by cloud networking (explained below) that connects users, applications, and data storage environments.
At a high level:
- A healthcare professional enters information into a secure application;
- The application sends that data through protected digital connections;
- The data is validated, processed, and stored in secure environments;
- Authorized users later access or update the information as needed.
This entire process relies on cloud networking to function safely and reliably.
Cloud networking explained
We should further define cloud networking, as it’s foundational to data management in healthcare and beyond. It refers to the secure digital pathways allowing data to move between users, applications, and storage locations. Cloud networking uses distributed infrastructure, such as servers, storage systems, and network connections, to:
- Transmit data securely over private connections
- Control who accesses systems
- Maintain system availability
- Scale capacity as needs grow
One of the key advantages of cloud-based data storage is resilience through redundancy. Instead of relying on a single server, data is often duplicated across multiple systems. This allows organizations to:
- Recover information quickly if hardware fails
- Maintain access during power outages
- Prevent data loss from accidental deletion or damage
For healthcare organizations, cloud networking enables teams to access real-time information in diverse locations without exposing data to unnecessary risk. Importantly, cloud networking is distinct from sending data onto the internet. It uses protected routes and constant oversight to ensure information moves safely from one environment to another.
In summary: Cloud networking is the invisible system that securely carries healthcare data through creation to storage for future retrieval.
Clinicians increase revenue by an average of 9.4% using Petal Billing.
Data centres: Where data is stored
Healthcare data stored in “the cloud” doesn’t float in digital space.
This data lives in physical data centres, highly controlled facilities made to store and protect information. A data centre houses servers, networking equipment, and storage systems. They’re engineered to operate continuously and withstand disruptions like electrical outages, human error, and weather events.
- Did you know? Data centres date back to 1945 when the United States’ Electrical Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) was built at the University of Pennsylvania.
Using cloud infrastructure centralizes data protection. It allows healthcare organizations to meet high standards for reliability and protection without the time, energy, and money required to manage data on site.
Still, it’s critical that healthcare leaders understand where data physically resides to effectively evaluate compliance risk and communicate these risks to stakeholders.
In summary: Healthcare data stored in the cloud resides in physical data centres. These facilities provide safeguards and redundancy that support safe, uninterrupted care delivery.
Choose a Canada-based partner to secure your data
Choose a technology partner that prioritizes security at its foundation.
Petal’s cloud solutions are 100% Canadian-built and hosted. That’s reliable compliance. Each one:
- Meets global standards in interoperability (FHIR, HL7) and security (SOC2 Type 2).
- Aligns with GDPR and other global privacy frameworks.
- Includes annual, independent audits.
The privacy of your patients and organization is Petal’s top concern. Our 3,000+ worldwide customer deployments benefit from top-grade security.
Protect your health data by choosing a partner who builds to secure it.
Ensure your patient and business data security:
