Common Problems in the Healthcare Informatics

Health informatics can be defined as the study of resources and methods for the management of health information. This area supports health IT, medical practice, medical research, etc.

The biggest issue in health informatics is privacy. It is the only thing which keeps haunting the patient only after their health.

In this article, we shall discuss about problems that keep popping up in the healthcare informatics and a healthcare administrator should know about it.

1. Viruses and Software Updates:

It is always better to set up with a network which handles the software updates and virus scans. But if it happens that someone is using the Internet for personal usage, better to be cautions.

After all, it is always a good habit of analyzing systems and equipments which store data. Time to time scrutiny also helps keeping in touch with the healthcare data security standards.

One can be secure healthcare informatics by having protected passwords, alarm systems, electronic medical record review, etc.

2. Medical Devices Security:

According to a recent survey conducted by a healthcare solution company, 90% of healthcare organizations put employee negligence in top concerns over cyber-attacks & mobile device security.

Cyber security is the biggest threat the world and healthcare sector is facing today. Not all the apps translate from a desktop version to the mobile version.

It is always better to have or develop apps which are compatible with a variety of devices. When the devices are compatible with any device, electronic medical records can be accessed from any corner of the world.

3. Talks on Awareness:

Awaring your potential employees on the various kinds of security issues taking place is half of the work done.

The awareness can be done through discussions, trainings, webinars, etc. They need to understand their role on how they can contribute to safeguard of their respective data at an individual, personal level.

Content which is user-facing, one needs to educate the patient regarding their role in keeping healthcare informatics secure. This is relevant with information that is stored on to their smart phones.

4. Phishing Campaigns:

Phishing refers to any kind of attack by which fraudsters mimic like a legitimate company as as to steal people’s personal information or login credentials.

At an individual level, training is the best way to combat this. All one needs to discuss in training about indicators which imply that a particular mail is phishing mail.

5. Data Breach:

A data breach is an incident in which sensitive or confidential data has been copied, transmitted, viewed, stolen or utilized by an individual who is unauthorized to do so.

It is always better to have a plan of action beforehand so as to keep networks safe if any sudden attacks happen.