Privacy, security, and the Regional Health Information Organization
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Series Title(s):
- ihealth reports
- Contributor(s):
- Rosenfeld, Sheera. Koss, Shanna. Siler, Sharon. California HealthCare Foundation
- Publication:
- Oakland, Calif. : California HealthCare Foundation, c2007
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Computer Security -- legislation & jurisprudence Confidentiality -- legislation & jurisprudence Medical Record Linkage -- methods Medical Records Systems, Computerized -- organization & administration Computer Communication Networks Consumer Behavior Information Services -- standards Informed Consent Systems Integration Humans United States United States.
- Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- Regional Health Information Organizations (RHIOs), which promote electronic exchange of patient information among participants, are in the early stages of development. As they grow, RHIOs must establish policies and practices to protect the privacy and security of that information, an often difficult undertaking. This study, based on a literature review, interviews, and an informal survey, examines key privacy and security issues that some RHIOs encounter, the policies and practices they adopt to manage these issues, and common emerging strategies. The study finds that privacy and security challenges are surmountable. A RHIO's unique characteristics--the types of data shared, who participates, its specific needs and priorities, and other factors--influence how an exchange addresses these challenges. Solutions are diverse and evolving. The study also finds that consumers play a limited role in privacy and policy decisions, even though they are important RHIO constituents. Nascent exchanges could benefit from the experiences of and collaboration with others, and policymakers can help RHIOs navigate privacy and security issues and move toward sustainability. RHIOs are more likely to overcome privacy and security challenges if they avoid narrow privacy and security solutions, address external factors such as legal requirements and community priorities, and engage a broad range of constituents. They should also use existing privacy and security frameworks as a starting point, anticipate long-term infrastructure needs and goals, and consider how they can become sustainable over the long term.
- Copyright:
- Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY license. (More information)
- Extent:
- 29 leaves.
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 101309296 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/101309296