Healthcare Information Security
Response 1
It is true that healthcare information security deals with privacy nowadays. The information should be defended, and every country takes necessary steps to do it. As for the USA, I agree that there should be careful examination while exchanging information with the rest of the world to make it impossible for private information to be stolen. The importance of guaranteeing privacy of healthcare information is predetermined by increasing patient trust and information integrity (The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, 2015, p. 8). Furthermore, it is crucial to minimize the risk of cyber-attacks which are common nowadays. In this connection, the U.S. healthcare system should increase the number and quality of available technologies and to make investments “to keep up with the threats to achieve a stronger security posture” (Metzger & Miller, 2016, n.p.). As a result, the protection of health information privacy will be the priority.
Response 2
Personal information is one of the values in today’s information-oriented society. The issue of guaranteeing privacy of personal data is of high importance, since there is no common approach towards the problem in all parts of the world. Thus, while comparing the U.S. policies and the policies accepted in the European Union (EU), it is possible to notice that there is no single privacy law, unlike the EU, where the Data Protection Directive serves as the principal law defending personal information (InfoSec Institute, 2013). The USA has the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), and the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act (FACTA) at a federal level. Besides, privacy laws in some forms are also enacted at a state level (InfoSec Institute, 2013). Eventually, differences in privacy policies and the U.S. “sectoral approach to privacy” (Stevens, 2016) lead to the necessity of working out unified data protection laws to meet privacy obligations and to defend personal data.
References
InfoSec Institute. (2013, January 10). Differences between the privacy laws in the EU and the US. infosecinstitute.com. Retrieved from http://resources.infosecinstitute.com/differences-privacy-laws-in-eu-and-us/
Metzger, K. & Miller, I. (2016, June 3). Cybersecurity and data protection: helping healthcare clients protect patient information. Lexis Practice Advisor Journal. Retrieved from https://www.lexisnexis.com/lexis-practice-advisor/the-journal/b/lpa/archive/2016/06/03/cybersecurity-and-data-protection-helping-healthcare-clients-protect-patient-information.aspx
Stevens, T. (2016, September 14). Data protection – objectives or outcomes? Computer Weekly. Retrieved from http://www.computerweekly.com/blog/Identity-Privacy-and-Trust/Data-Protection-Objectives-or-Outcomes
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (2015, April). Guide to privacy and security of electronic health information. HealthIT.gov. Retrieved from …
