Evaluation of Standards for Access Control Enabling PHR-S Federation

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Computer Science
• Cybersecurity

Background:

• Internet of Things (IoT) and mobile applications are transforming healthcare delivery.
• Current healthcare systems often operate in isolated ecosystems, hindering data integration.
• Interoperability is crucial for realizing the full potential of digital health solutions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate available specifications for federated authorization in healthcare.
• To assess these specifications against a set of essential requirements for secure data access.
• To identify solutions enabling interoperability in digital health ecosystems.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing federated authorization specifications.
• Development of a requirements checklist for healthcare data access control.
• Comparative analysis of specifications against the defined requirements.

Main Results:

• Identified key challenges in integrating disparate healthcare IoT and mobile systems.
• Evaluated the suitability of various federated authorization standards for healthcare.
• Highlighted the need for standardized approaches to user-managed access control.

Conclusions:

• Federated authorization is essential for secure and interoperable digital health solutions.
• Existing specifications require careful evaluation to meet healthcare's unique demands.
• Standardized, user-centric access control is vital for effective healthcare data management and patient empowerment.