Review Of Information Security Of Health Record Systems Assignment

Review Of Information Security Of Health Record Systems Assignment Review Of Information Security Of Health Record Systems â€" Assignment Example > INFORMATION SECURITY OF HEALTH RECORD SYSTEMS1.0 IntroductionHealth information systems are the building blocks for decision making across functions within health facilities. Appari Johnson (2010) assert the role of health record systems in decision making has four major underpinnings: communication, compilation, data generation, analysis and synthesis. Therefore, sound and reliable health records systems are required in achieving proper decision making processes. As such, it is essential for healthcare facilities to develop and implement procedures that regulate and govern these records. These include proper human resource development in healthcare records education, service delivery and information of health records security. Information security of healthcare records has become particularly an interesting area of research across the globe. This is because information security and privacy are key principles that determine the effectiveness of the patient-physician therapeutic r elationship. Usually, patients are required to share certain information with doctors for purposes of diagnosis and treatment procedures. However, they often find it difficult to disclose all information especially in case of health complications like HIV and psychiatric problems as their disclosure might lead to discrimination and stigmatization. Hodge (2003) defines information security as the protection of information and information systems from destruction as well as unauthorized modification, disruption, disclosure, use and access. Information security in the healthcare sector is achieved by ensuring availability, integrity and confidentiality. Confidentiality refers to the property that health information is not disclosed or made available to unauthorized persons. Integrity on the other hand makes reference to the fact that health records should not be destroyed in an unauthorised manner. Availability of health records refers to easy accessibility and usability of health rec ords upon demand by an authorized person. The purpose of this report is to give a review of various information security methods that are used on different types of healthcare records systems. 2.0 Health care record systems Health records also known as medical records are instruments used by health practitioners to track a patient’s medical history and thus determine patterns and problems of the current medical problem. Medical records are quite fundamental as they enable healthcare providers to provide quality health care to patients. In addition to providing information required for the therapeutic process, medical records fulfil legal, auditing and regulatory requirements. Medical records contribute to the quality of medical services provided to patients by improving coordination and efficiency in interprofessional and team-based settings, optimizing the use of resources and facilitating resources (Baker 2006). Medical records contribute to the quality of healthcare by provid ing a detailed description of the patient’s health status and the rationale for treatment. Karen et al (2009) maintain that they are helpful tools during subsequent visits to the hospitals as medical practitioners can have a review of the patients past and current health status. Besides that, they are evidence of care, that is, they are legal documents that prove that a patient received certain medical attention and especially in cases of civil and criminal matters. Medical records can be classified into two broad categories: paper-based recordkeeping systems and the Electronic Medical Records (EMR). Paper-based medical records arose at the beginning of the 19th century and they basically involve the use of highly personalized lab notebooks used by healthcare providers to record their observations and treatment plans about patients. One sticking feature about paper-based recordkeeping systems is that papers or files are piled up in the hospital archive which makes the process of retrieval tiring and time consuming (Laerumet al 2003). Due to these disadvantages, paper records are gradually giving way to electronic records which are more efficient and less costly. Security and privacy issues underlying the two types of recordkeeping systems are quite different as the storage systems are also different (Shortliffe 1999).