Clinics, medical centers, and other healthcare institutions are faced with a large amount of personal data of both employees and customers. Many documents fall into the category of medical confidentiality. Therefore, information security in medicine is moving to a new level.
Medical institutions are switching to electronic document management, electronic records or medical records of patients are being automated.
If your healthcare provider is connected to the Pennsylvania Patient & Provider Network through a certified health information organization, your medical information is automatically available to other participating providers in the network. However, you may opt out of the sharing of your personal information in the network by submitting the form through your healthcare provider or directly to the PA eHealth partnership authority.
Health information privacy and security policies protect patient information. Misused Personal Health Information (PHI) and Personally Identifiable Information (PII) can be devastating to patients and their families. In the wrong hands, PHIs and PIIs, such as Social Security numbers, birth dates, and Medicare numbers, can jeopardize patients’ finances, encourage Medicare fraud, and more.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 The Privacy, Security, and Whistleblower Rules are federal laws designed to protect patient data. They establish guidelines and requirements for data protection and the application of penalties for mishandling of data. These regulations require healthcare systems and other covered organizations to be vigilant in managing patient and even financial data.
It is impossible to improve the efficiency of medical services without information transformation. Like any industry, healthcare has its own characteristics.
Common features of health information exchange systems are:
Ensuring the safety of eHealth is regulated by law.
To protect the information in the healthcare system, the following methods are used:
Legal mechanisms establish liability for violation of data use rules, deterring potential violators.
Organizational and managerial methods prescribe the framework, working conditions of resources, functions of employees, as well as a system of relationships between subscribers and the administrator.
Protective mechanisms are provided with technical means. They block the free access of unscrupulous users to information, “identify” subscribers, set restrictions on access and editing of information, and provide cryptographic protection of databases.
Methods of automation and information security in medical organizations depend on the size of the organization, the amount of information processed. Large institutions have their own personal information processing centers. They are responsible for the exchange of information, synchronization of electronic correspondence systems.
Information support is necessary for the implementation of management and technological activities. To facilitate the automation process, to ensure information security, the development and implementation of standard comprehensive programs for the protection of confidential information is required.
The data processed in medical institutions is information related to medical confidentiality. Their protection is provided at the legislative level. Therefore, the protection of MIS (medical information systems) is a complex of measures, including:
If these directions are not properly protected, the responsibility for the dissemination of classified information rests with the management of the medical institution.
Pennsylvania Healthcare