In my conversations regarding technology with healthcare professionals, privacy and security throughout the business/clinical process is a common source of pain. After all, whether a medical practice is well into the use of an EHR or at some stage of selection/implementation, the business process is critical to determining how effective technology will be as a tool for everyone. Each person in the practice has important responsibilities to fulfill and that, in many cases, requires access to patient records in some level of detail. Having a concise technology management and use policy can go a long way in the development of best practices within the practice for concerns such as privacy and security because technology does have implications on both your people and processes. The point is that whatever your process is today, using an EHR can be a great tool when it is surrounded by sound technology management policies for the practice. What’s more, this is an ongoing process with much iteration.
Here are some interesting statistics regarding breaches of healthcare data and other personal information:
P2P Networks a Treasure Trove of Leaked Health Care Data, Study Finds
