Going Beyond Compliance: A Strategic Framework for Promoting Information Security in Hospitals

In the past decade, public and private organizations have experienced a significant and alarming rise in the number of data breaches. Across all sectors, there seems to be no safe haven for the protection of information. In the health care industry, the trend is even worse. Information security is at an unbelievable low point, and it is unlikely that government oversight can fix this issue. Health care organizations have ramped up their approaches to addressing the problem; however, these initiatives are often incremental rather than transformational. Hospitals need an overall organization-wide strategy to prevent breaches from occurring and to minimize effects if they do occur. This article provides an analysis of the literature related to health information security and offers a suggested strategy for hospital administrators to follow in order to create a more secure environment for patient health information.