A recent study has been published in the Health Services Journal about security of information in the NHS. The authors found in their survey of 105 doctors, that 92 had memory sticks and only 5/72 of those with confidential patient information on were password protected. The survey highlights a trend in the use of mobile computing or computing-associated devices in health services. This is certainly an area which needs attention and a health informatics bill which incorporates security may be a solution. The difficulties with such bills are that they would need to be revised frequently in response to rapid developments in IT. In summary, this survey highlights an important issue which needs to be addressed.
Disclaimer
The comments made here represent the opinions of the author and do not represent the profession or any body/organisation. The comments made here are not meant as a source of medical advice and those seeking medical advice are advised to consult with their own doctor. The author is not responsible for the content of external sites that are linked to within this blog.
Tags: confidential patient information on memory stick, psychiatry blog, survey of doctors use of memory sticks, The Neural Network
