Teaching EHRs security with simulation for non-technical healthcare professionals

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Information Security
• Educational Technology

Background:

• A growing need exists for securing electronic healthcare information.
• Many healthcare leaders lack understanding of data security and privacy concepts.
• Effective management of Electronic Health Records (EHR) requires data encryption knowledge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To simplify complex data security concepts for healthcare leaders.
• To provide a foundational understanding of securing healthcare data.
• To address the disparity in knowledge regarding electronic health information privacy and accuracy.

Main Methods:

• Utilized role-play demonstrations to explain challenging concepts.
• Developed a workshop and simulation game focused on encryption technology.
• Employed simulation learning as a pedagogical approach.

Main Results:

• The simulation effectively teaches the technology of encryption.
• Successfully tested the simulation with graduate health administration students.
• Validated the simulation's effectiveness with technical, academic, and teaching communities.

Conclusions:

• Simulation learning is beneficial for teaching complex data security concepts.
• The developed simulation game enhances understanding of healthcare data encryption.
• Improved knowledge among healthcare leaders can bolster confidence in EHR security.