Make or break – digital healthcare and privacy reach the tipping point (UK and global)

Citation

(2012), "Make or break – digital healthcare and privacy reach the tipping point (UK and global)", Leadership in Health Services, Vol. 25 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/lhs.2012.21125daa.003

Make or break – digital healthcare and privacy reach the tipping point (UK and global)

Article Type: News and views From: Leadership in Health Services, Volume 25, Issue 4

Keywords: Patient privacy, Electronic healthcare, Risk management

Attacks on patient privacy are of rapidly-growing concern in the UK. There are regular reports of serious data breaches by members of staff which can harm patients, damage the reputations of healthcare providers and erode confidence in electronic care. “Make or break – digital healthcare and privacy reach the tipping point” is a new white paper from FairWarning®, the inventor and global leader in privacy breach monitoring and detection for healthcare. It provides incisive analysis of the issues and how they affect key stakeholders, offering sustainable solutions which mean that healthcare providers can rest assured that the confidentiality of their patients is properly protected.

Electronic healthcare is a liberating force for clinicians, healthcare providers and patients. It promises better care, delivered faster, with greater safety and improved outcomes. But there are dangers. Unless patient privacy is built into NHS IT systems at ground level there is the ever-present risk of major data breaches.

The greatest threat is not from lost or stolen laptops and mobile devices, but from staff abusing their legitimate access rights to read electronic records they have no right to see. This can lead to identity theft, fraud and many other forms of criminality. Details of celebrity patients can also be leaked to the media.

Improper accessing of patient records is widespread in the UK and worldwide. It can result in immense harm to the reputation of hospitals, their senior management and their clinicians and cause irreparable damage to patients and their families. Equally it can undermine the trust of patients, and the wider public, in the specific organisation and more generally in electronic health records.

For more information: www.ehealthnews.eu