For many professionals, going on a business trip is an exciting experience since it offers a change of scenery, networking opportunities, and a chance to explore new environments and culture. However, business travel can pose a few challenges, especially if you have one or more chronic health problems. According to a recent study, 52 percent of employees are currently struggling with at least one chronic condition. What's more, it's not just older workers who are getting sick since 4 in 10 Gen Z and Millennial employees are living with a chronic health problem. 

Managing a health condition to stay healthy and well while on a business trip is easy enough if you plan and prepare for it. However, you should also be aware of the risks of business travel, especially if you use health apps or devices to monitor or self-manage your condition. Many travelers have experienced hacking or digital scams while in a new destination, so staying vigilant is a must to keep your personal, health, and banking details safe at all times. Here's a guide to healthcare security for traveling professionals with a chronic condition.

Protect Your Medical Devices from Cyber Criminals

Cyber criminals are increasingly targeting medical patients and the healthcare industry for malicious intent or financial gain. Since their systems contain sensitive data such as social security numbers, addresses, and medical history, hospitals and other healthcare organizations are now training employees to mitigate cybersecurity threats in simple yet effective ways. Patients should also be aware of these cybersecurity threats and take active steps to protect themselves wherever they are. 

Securing your medical devices is one way to safeguard your data from hackers while you're traveling for work. It may be hard to believe, but apart from smartphones, cyber criminals also target health aids such as wireless-connected insulin pumps and glucometers, pacemakers, and wearable health devices. By hacking into these devices, criminals can harvest data to steal money, impersonate a patient, or even use health information to blackmail a person. 

Bluetooth-connected devices such as smart insulin pumps and glucometers should not be recognizable to people who are scanning public spaces for Bluetooth signals. For instance, instead of naming your wireless insulin pump as “My insulin pump,” create a unique name that is not easily readable or identifiable as a diabetes management device. Meanwhile, to secure your fitness tracker or smart watch while you're on a business trip, change the settings to maximize your privacy. You may also want to check if the information on the device can be seen by your contacts or your friends on your social media accounts. Don't forget to turn off geolocation tracking, and see if the device and all of its apps are running the latest security updates.

Practice Safe Online Behavior

Being in a new town, city, or country can feel like an adventure, even if you're there for business purposes. However, don't let your guard down since hackers can access your accounts at any given moment. Whether you're at a business conference or lounging by the hotel pool, stay safe online and avoid using public Wi-Fi networks. Use your cellular network or a VPN, and never perform sensitive activities like banking, shopping, or updating information on health monitoring apps unless you're connected to a trusted network. 

If you're using health apps, enable multi-factor authentication since that makes it more difficult for cyber criminals to access your phone. Hackers can easily steal usernames since a lot of apps require you to use your email address, which is part of your digital identity. They can also get passwords through malware or password cracking, so add another layer of security with MFA or two-step authentication.  

While checking emails or your social media accounts, avoid clicking on any suspicious-looking links or downloading attachments from unfamiliar email addresses. Also, since there's a chance that your devices or gadgets can be stolen while you're traveling for work, avoid storing sensitive data or passwords on them. To prevent hackers from gaining physical access to your phone, use a strong password and combine it with a PIN or a biometric lock such as fingerprint or facial recognition. 

Prevent cybercriminals from accessing your health and personal data while on your business trip. Practice safe online behavior at all times, and safeguard your medical devices for a secure and hassle-free work travel experience.