The role of standards in a dynamic area

It proves difficult to achieve a good measure of security in medical informatics applications. A number of reasons for this are analyzed. It is argued, that standardisation will help in solving this problem to a certain extent, but a more complete solution is possible when this is used in close conjunction with legal instruments (e.g. EU directives) and advice of a less strict nature, like guidelines. On the whole, a pragmatic step-by-step approach is needed, although there are signs that the general environment for these developments is improving.