Privacy laws and regulations require medical facilities to take measurable steps

Question

Privacy laws and regulations require medical facilities to take measurable steps to ensure the confidentiality of patient information. From this case study, can you tell what Denver Health has done to ensure the confidentiality of its patient information?

If Denver Health were to give each patient a smart card, log-on name, and password, which functions, features, and information could benefit patients? what security would have to be in place to ensure that patients have access to only their own information?

Explanation / Answer

Answer for Question 1:

Denver Health did create security measures to ensure that only the proper people can access the information. Doctor’s and nurses when they first arrive to work they sign on by inserting a smart card which contains that doctors or nurses credentials, once the smart card is inserted the end user still also has to supply their login and password. The help ensures that if a card is lost or stolen a random person or a different doctor or nurse is not able to use and look at other patient information.

Answer for Question 2:

Patients would be able to look at their own personal patient history such as office visits, test results, prescriptions, anything that is related to that patient. Patients could also then utilize the tool to see if and when their doctor is going to be in the office and try to schedule a visit. Denver Health could also take it one step further and allow for patients and the doctors to interact. With a patients history right there if a patients is asking questions or looking at symptoms doctors would be better able to diagnose for minor ailments not requiring an office visit from the patient.
There would still have to be security measures in place. Each user would have to have their own login and password. This would be similar to what is in place with online banking. Many customers bank, but with their login information they are only able to access their own accounts and not another customers.

Answer for Question 3:

Denver Health could expand ThinIdentity outside of its brick-and-mortar walls, Denver Health could expand their solution to users with smartphones. If Thinidentity is going to be utilized on a smartphone Denver Health is going to have to create an application that allows for only registered users to access, or create a VPN connection on the device and then only be able to access ThinIdentity from behind the VPN.

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