November 26

Electronic health records are dominating changes in the healthcare world constantly. As the medical space continues to digitize, the way doctors, patients and hospitals function and interact is changing. Making sure records are recovered when data loss incidents occur is one thing. The importance of medical records being stored and preserved is clear to most. We have recovered lost data from hospital hard drives and doctors on a number of occasions. In a rush to modernize and increase technological access sometimes the looming threats to privacy and safety of personal healthcare information are not given as much attention. A number of incidents from mishandling of digital devices to insecure facilities means privacy breaches are on the rise. Digital mishaps and process snafus are one thing but privacy breaches due to direct violation of patient confidentiality are a real growing threat. Data on patients, as in other familiar sectors like retail, is valuable to marketers and companies looking to reach consumers and build profiles. A recent story exemplifies the real threat. A hospital clerk has been charged with selling patient information. The former hospital staffer was found to have violated employer confidentiality policies and patient privacy by copying or distributing confidential personal data of maternity patients to one or more RESP dealer representatives. As electronic health records become the norm, the ease at which those records full of personal patient data can be shared increases. Check out the full story that caught our eye here at Platter Chatter in the link below


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