Your Mobile Device and Health Information Privacy and Security, Essay Example

Based on what you have learned from this course and in addition to your own experiences, what are two of the most commonly overlooked or neglected aspects of information systems security that you feel exist in health care organizations? Why?

Based on what I learned from this course and my own personal experience, I believe that the two most commonly overlooked or neglected aspects of information systems security in healthcare organizations are adequate password authentication and mobile security. Although healthcare organizations are aware that they must be HIPAA compliant, it is fascinating that they only uphold minimal protection of sensitive patient information (Wilson, 2006). In many cases, hospital computers require healthcare professionals to enter login information, but using easy to guess usernames and passwords. Using the employee’s name as a username and a last name/birthday combination as a password simply isn’t safe because this is easy to guess (Windows, n.d.). Yet, I have seen this done in practice. In addition, as healthcare professionals have begun to use mobile healthcare technologies, such as cell phones, laptops, and tablets, there has been less concern for information protection. For some reason, healthcare professionals do not associate these devices with requiring the same safety needs (healthcare.gov, n.d.). It is important that this view is changed for the sake of protecting patient privacy.

Discuss what you can do as a Health Informatics professional correct the two aspects you identified.

As a health informatics professional, I will fix the weak password usage in clinical settings by requiring passwords that include at least one capital letter, one lower case letter, one number, and one non-numeric symbol. In addition, passwords that are close to an employee’s name and other personal identifiers will not be permitted in this combination. Therefore, passwords will be significantly more secure and more difficult to guess. To ensure that mobile devices or secure, I would require a username and password combination to access these systems, even if the device is being used solely by one staff member. The password combination will be required to follow the scheme that was mentioned above.

References

Healthcare.gov. (n.d.). Your Mobile Device and Health Information Privacy and Security. Retrieved from http://www.healthit.gov/providers-professionals/your-mobile-device-and-health-information-privacy-and-security

Wilson J (2006). Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Privacy rule causes ongoing concerns among clinicians and researchers. Ann Intern Med, 145 (4): 313–6.

Windows. (n.d.). Tips for creating a strong password. Retrieved from http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-vista/tips-for-creating-a-strong-password