Cybersecurity in Healthcare

Cybersecurity in Healthcare
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Cybersecurity in Healthcare
The world is continually transforming due to changing technological innovations. Healthcare is also at the same pace by adapting innovations in inpatient care. Healthcare administration has been faced with countless challenges, such as data security and privacy of patient information. Several Acts such as HIPPA and HITECH encourage safeguarding patient information to avoid malpractices and patient health information to undesired individuals (Martin et al., 2017). The concept of privacy and security of patients’ records is essential to avoid leakages, like in 2015, where more than 750 healthcare breaches occurred. Among these, the top seven involved about 193 million personal information being subjected to identity theft and fraud. Most of these forms of data breaches are linked to the healthcare industry.
Information security is the biggest concern for healthcare as health data is crucial in research used to implement evidence-based projects. Medical data also stores and facilitates retrieval of large amounts of discernable personal data, potentially embarrassing and quite sensitive (Conaty-Buck, 2017). The healthcare professionals are ethically obligated to protect patients’ information through several codes of contact, such as the Australian Medical Association Code, which provides an exception to patient privacy matters. Access to patient records can only be an exception if it is required by a court of law, required for research, or in cases of overwhelming societal interest.
Healthcare stakeholders comprise the most valuable resources in medical settings. They provide support in planning and decision-making processes involving the initiation of new ideas. Stakeholders engaged in healthcare settings include nurses, researchers, legislative bodies, and accrediting agencies (Conaty-Buck, 2017). Information safety in healthcare impacts stakeholders from the janitorial team to the physicians. Some data security bodies, such as HIPPA, impact insurance companies, patients, and healthcare providers. Lack of cybersecurity in healthcare can negatively impact patient safety since cybercriminals can use their information and intellectual property and demand ransoms (Al-Muhtadi et al., 2019: HIMMS, n.d). At the same time, the criminals may prevent the healthcare entity from functioning correctly. Stakeholders should therefore prioritize safety by utilizing the latest and most secure cybersecurity gadgets and software. Medical providers are obligated to protect patient information from unauthorized access by patients and other people. The nurses record patient’s health history and collaborate with other medical professionals in planning for treatment, administer medication and provide education to the patients on managing their illnesses (Conaty-Buck, 2017). The entire process from recording to the administration of medicines involves ...