Investigating risk exposure in e-health systems

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Information Technology Security
• Risk Management

Background:

• Healthcare systems increasingly rely on electronic health information systems, presenting new challenges for health managers and practitioners.
• Developing dependable and secure e-health systems is crucial for effective healthcare delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine critical attributes for e-health system development, focusing on Electronic Health Records (EHRs).
• To propose the QUiPS model as a framework for building trustworthy e-health solutions by identifying pertinent risk exposure issues.

Main Methods:

• Prioritizing and addressing critical attributes within e-health systems, acknowledging their interdependencies.
• Applying risk-based techniques to enterprise-level applications of live health records through two Australian case studies.

Main Results:

• Evaluation of the value and shortcomings of a risk-based approach for developing safe and secure electronic health information systems.
• Case studies indicate traditional requirement derivation methods are often inadequate, with risks being application-dependent and dynamic.

Conclusions:

• A universal solution for EHRs is not imminent, and trust in e-health remains fragile.
• Flexible, regularly updated policies for data custodians and a wider range of analysis techniques are needed for sustainable e-health solutions.