Health Information Security
Introduction
Information stored in any data base or data warehouses face potential threats. The risks may result into deletion of some information, corruption, mishandling of the information or access to the information by unauthorized individuals. These risks are inherent whenever huge chunks of data is stored in information systems; it is therefore necessary to take precautionary security measures to ensure that the data is safe. If security is not ensured then users or the IS may run headlong into operational inefficiencies.
Threats to patient data
Potential risks to patient data include the risk to corruption of the information by malignant codes or viruses, the risk of mishandling or wrong entry of data by unscrupulous health personnel and the risk of access of data by unauthorized individuals. If viruses invade the information system, then a great risk is posed. The authentic data is corrupted which means that continued use of it by the physicians would be inefficient; for example the virus may copy paste the information of one patient to the profile of another which means that the health procedure of a patient is used wrongly on another, for example in administration of dosages, this is risky and can result into complication.
When the data is accessed by unauthorized individuals, confidential health information about patients is disclosed, this threatens the privacy of the patients and they will be disappointed if their information gets into the wrong hands, of high risk too is the entry of wrong data by unscrupulous individuals (hackers), this means the whole treatment procedures of patients may be messed up which could result into medical errors putting the patients at a great risk.
The biggest threat of all this is viruses which may intrude the information systems and corrupt all the files, using the data to attend the patients would threaten the health of the patients; this means that instead of treating the patients their conditions will only be made worse by the use of wrong information. This may threaten the careers of the physicians because the credibility of their medical services is put in doubt, Glaser & Ake (2010).
Relevance of a nursing IS
When data is in the electronic form, its management becomes easier and more efficient. The reason I choose to talk about a nursing information system is that when such a system is used, then management of patients becomes accurate and effective as compared to a manual systems whereby mistakes can occur due to human error. Extensive information about patients will facilitate efficient recommendations on heal procedures for patients.
Implementation of a medical information system provides an opportunity or even an incentive for health practitioners this is because they can attend to their patients more effectively and more accurate by making sound decisions on treatment requirements from adequate information about the patients, Conn (2010). The IS can result into an overall improvement of medical services is our country. Basically, an information system increases the efficiency of an organization. Because this is a recent development, many opportunities for implementation are available in many health centers that have previously relied on manual data for patient management, however all the phases of implementation must be adhered to achieve the desired efficiency of the systems.
References
Conn, J. (2010). One step closer. Modern healthcare, 40(36): pp 8
Glaser, J. & Ake, J. (2010). Healthcare IT trends raise bar for information security. Healthcare financial management, 64(47): pp 40
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