New cybersecurity self-learning program announced

KITCHENER, Ont. – The eHealth Centre of Excellence (eCE) has announced the official launch of eCE Shield, a national web-based cybersecurity and privacy self-learning program designed specifically for healthcare professionals. eCE Shield addresses the pressing need for comprehensive cybersecurity and privacy education in healthcare, ultimately making healthcare organizations more resilient against cyber threats and privacy breaches.

“As a trusted partner to healthcare organizations across the country, we feel enormously proud to be offering this new service that will help to keep their sensitive information safe and protected,” said Dr. Mohamed Alarakhia (pictured), CEO, eHealth Centre of Excellence.

He added, “eCE Shield will give your team the knowledge and skillset necessary to fortify your organization’s defences against ever-evolving cyber threats, and the eHealth Centre of Excellence will be here to provide change management services to support organizations taking on this essential initiative.”

The Global Risks Report released by the World Economic Forum in 2022 highlights that a staggering 95% of cyber incidents can be traced to human error, and with cyberattacks and breaches in healthcare steadily on the rise, the urgency for targeted cybersecurity and privacy education cannot be overstated.

Available in both English and French, eCE Shield has been certified by the College of Family Physicians of Canada for 7.5 Mainpro+® credits.

Key Highlights of eCE Shield:

Engaging and Interactive Platform: The program offers tailor-made self-learning modules with quizzes that test the learner’s knowledge about cybersecurity risks and how to mitigate them, as well as links to relevant articles with real-life examples about how cyberattacks and privacy breaches can impact healthcare organizations, their teams, and patients.

Comprehensive and Ongoing Training: The program offers continuous education through monthly phishing challenges, ensuring that healthcare professionals are consistently honing their skills in the application of cybersecurity best practices.

Proactive Cybersecurity Approach: By investing in eCE Shield, healthcare organizations can enhance their cybersecurity readiness, protecting valuable patient information and other sensitive data. The program arms organizations with the expertise to prevent and respond to potential incidents, ultimately fostering a safer and more secure healthcare environment.

Expertise Backed by Experience: Powered by the eHealth Centre of Excellence, a not-for-profit organization with over a decade of experience in supporting clinicians with digital health solutions, the eCE Shield team understands the unique challenges faced by healthcare organizations and has designed the platform to accommodate busy schedules.

Flexible and Tailored Support: eCE Shield’s flexible structure allows organizations to provide additional tailored services leveraging the eHealth Centre of Excellence’s award-winning, clinician-led change management framework; our evaluation of a previous cybersecurity initiative that we supported showed that our hands-on approach led to higher registration and completion rates.

In this digital age, where patient data and other sensitive information reside on cloud-based platforms, healthcare professionals are the first line of defense against cyber criminals. eCE Shield recognizes this pivotal role and is focused on addressing the human element of cybersecurity risk, which cyber criminals exploit to gain access to sensitive healthcare data. The program trains learners to identify and report cybersecurity and privacy incidents and helps them understand their roles and responsibilities in preventing them.

“As healthcare professionals, we understand the immense responsibility of safeguarding patient data. eCE Shield equips us with the strategies and skills needed to protect that trust. As an early adopter of this program, I can see it has the potential to be a real game-changer for our industry,” said Dr. Kevin Samson, clinical advisor, eHealth Centre of Excellence, and a Family Physician at the East Wellington Family Health Team.

For more information about eCE Shield, please visit www.ehealthce.ca/shield.

About eCE Shield
eCE Shield is a national cybersecurity and privacy self-learning program designed specifically for Canadian healthcare professionals. Certified by the College of Family Physicians of Canada, the self-learning program offers 7.5 Mainpro+ credits and is dedicated to enhancing cybersecurity readiness in healthcare.

About the eHealth Centre of Excellence
The eHealth Centre of Excellence is a not-for-profit organization headquartered in Kitchener, Ontario, that was established to support clinicians and healthcare organizations with the meaningful and sustainable adoption of digital health solutions in all facets of clinical operations.