Technology Essay: Securing Recording-Keeping Systems

Securing Recording-Keeping Systems
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Securing Recording-Keeping Systems
Security threat is an evolving factor, and compliance to this is becoming a complex subject. The healthcare sector is among the industries that develop technology-oriented systems that are vulnerable to various security breaches. Health institutions with such technologies need comprehensive security programs to cover the challenges associated with these systems. Recently, the organization developed an electronic health record system to enhance safety and quality of care within the facility. The facility needs an information security policy that allows the administrators to coordinate and enforce a security initiative and pass the security principles to third parties and outside auditors.
The security policy to govern the electronic health record is that every practitioner with access to the system should use their designated username and passcodes while accessing files or any information in the system. The policy requires every staff to memorize their passcodes to avoid writing them somewhere and making them vulnerable to unauthorized individuals' access. The doctors, nurses, and other staff allowed access to the system would use their designated user accounts while viewing any information (Kruse, Smith, Vanderlinden & Nealand, 2017). Any visit will leave a blueprint of the time of access, the files accessed, and any other activities in the system, and most importantly, it will record the name and staff number of the user. This security policy is set to ensure any unethical behaviors in the system are noticed, and the culprit is charged with relevant punitive measures. The policy will provide the HER system upholds the confidentiality of the information, maintains the system's integrity, and always ensures the data is available whenever needed.
The health information is private and confidential and needs to be protected at all costs. The federal government established the Health Insurance Probability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy framework to ensure people have rights to their health information. The government also aimed to secure electronic health information following the adoption of technology-enabled systems across the healthcare industry. The policy will ensure the health facility meets the regulations and requirements by HIPAA, including access control, audit trail, and encryption of the stored information (Keshtaa & Odeh, 2020). The access control measure by HIPAA requires the electronic systems to be secure through passcodes and PINs to limit access to the patient information without authorization. The health information can be accessed only by the staff and practitioners authorized to access the system. Federal laws require doctors, hospitals, and care providers to notify their patients in case of a data breach. The law states that the provider should inform the Security of Health and Human Services.
Various laws have focused on promoting the authenticity and integrity of electronic health records. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act was employed as a section of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to enhance the quality of care, patient safety, and efficiency of health systems. The proposed policy is set to ensure all the provisions of this regulation are met and prioritized. The policy meets the regulations' requirements to ensure the security of all patient’s data, reduces healthcare costs, and fosters coordination of care among the providers. The policy also allows verification of the work performed by each provider or user accessing the system (Stephen, Nir, Saurabh & Eric, 2015). The system developers and m...