By Benjamin Fine is the Co-Founder and CEO of Formsort
Whether it’s telemedicine and electronic health records (EHRs) or the use of artificial intelligence (AI) for research or AI diagnostics, the digitization of healthcare is underway. It holds enormous potential across the entire life sciences sector, from research and development to direct patient care, potentially lowering costs and facilitating the personalization of medicine. But for all its benefits, healthcare digitization continues to carry one major concern: how to protect patient privacy.
The problem of patient privacy and healthcare digitization
The major issue surrounding patient privacy and the digitization of healthcare is that the very process which makes digitization possible – the collection, storage, and transmission of patient data – is the thing that makes it vulnerable to abuse. Technology isn’t infallible. While security measures have improved dramatically in recent years, the risk of breaches, unauthorized access, and misuse of sensitive information have increased too, across all sectors. But while data breaches and misuse can be catastrophic for businesses in other sectors, healthcare is a uniquely private matter, making security problems a cause for enormous concern. So, while advancements in technology offer patient benefits, such as improved care and efficiency, we can’t overlook the importance of safeguarding patient privacy.
What is the healthcare industry doing now?
Digitization in any sector requires a series of standard practices. Data encryption, multi-factor authentication, regular security updates and patching. These have all become routine across all sectors that collect and store data. And regulatory oversight is at last becoming a reality across the digital space, with the likes of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) in America. However, while these are good first steps, they are not enough to balance out the potential risk associated with healthcare data breaches. As such, there is much more that the healthcare industry can and should be doing to ensure patient privacy and data security.
What security measures should be the focus for healthcare providers?
As healthcare digitization continues, security and the safeguarding of patient privacy need to be built into its foundations. This means a change in working practices, as well as enhanced technical solutions. And the way we gather data needs to be looked at as a priority. For decades, organizations have collected more customer and patient data than they’ve needed or been able to use. However, AI and machine learning (ML) now make it possible for that data to be processed. Where this is not directly relevant to a patient’s treatment, this is not only highly inappropriate, but an enormous risk to patient privacy. Smarter data collection protocols are integral to ensure that only the data necessary for the treatment of each patient is collected. And that all superfluous data is responsibly disposed of.
Equally, once data has been collected, steps need to be taken to ensure that it is protected. One of the easiest ways to do this is data anonymity. By implementing a process of anonymization and pseudonymization throughout patient data, it becomes possible to share information for research and analysis while still protecting patient privacy.
Data storage is another pressing issue. In some scenarios – EHRs, for example – it’s simply not appropriate or viable to anonymize patient data. But the way that it is stored can still protect patient privacy. By isolating and segmenting data, separating administrative data from personal health information, you gain greater control over access, while adding a secondary layer of protection against data breaches. Particularly if that segmented data is stored on encrypted databases and dedicated servers.
Of course, phishing and communication platforms remain the primary foundation of all cyberattacks, which makes secure communication another vital area of focus. It’s not enough to have strong access control strategies. Dedicated communication platforms with integrated encryption must become a standard feature of all health service email, messaging systems, and video conferencing tools.
Lastly, when things do go wrong, a comprehensive audit trail must be available to ensure that problems are detected early and that there can be no cover ups. When data access and modification is logged, unauthorized access and data breaches can be more easily detected and prevented.
Can we make healthcare digitization safe?
Digitization could change global healthcare almost beyond recognition, with digital services providing medicine to places where it’s often difficult to access care, providing uniquely personalized healthcare, and enhancing research and development. But it’s only of value if it can do this safely, securely, and with patient privacy front and centre.
That means not only ensuring optimum data security but putting patients in the driving seat. Providing them with complete control over their health data – including the ability to revoke access to their personal health records at any time – and enabling them to make informed decisions on what happens to their data and how it is used. Secure medical forms will play a part in this, enabling healthcare organizations to collect and manage patient data in accordance with strict privacy regulations, while ensuring patient comprehension.
Healthcare digitization has been a slow process until very recently, but it is now finding its feet. That’s why it’s so vital that we put strong patient privacy strategies in place now, before we get too much further into the process. And before patients suffer from what will only look like a critical lack of foresight and care.
Benjamin Fine is the Co-Founder and CEO of Formsort, a HIPAA compliant form builder software built specifically with healthcare companies in mind. Prior to Formsort, Ben launched and scaled digital mortgage lender better.com (NASDAQ: BETR). He began his career as an investor at the Blackstone Group. Ben holds a B.A. in Applied Mathematics from Harvard College.
