Progress in Healthcare: Securing a New Common Norm in Medical Technology

Abstract

In the modern age of Healthcare Technology, there are vast changes in patient records. In the 1960s, the first use of EHRs (Electronic Health Records) was implemented in the Mayo Clinic of Rochester, Minnesota. (Earl) However, EHRs continue to enhance at a rapid rate and are becoming one of the fastest growing industries worldwide. The problem that arises with keeping confidential patient information on the cloud or servers is the access to hackers looking to steal information for misuse and causing detrimental harm to patients’ privacy. Thus, HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society) has continued to put rules and regulations into effect across the board of EHR systems. The issue is that these security measures do not fall on to the EHR system software creators but the medical practices themselves. (Health IT) But who in these practices or hospitals are going to regulate these significant measures? Many do not know that there is a software on the market today what will handle these tedious adjustments for the safety of the businesses and patients. Software companies like HIPAA One will do just that. (HIPAA One) These small companies will work with your current EHRs in compliance with the federally regulated HIPAA laws to ensure practices and hospitals alike are providing safety of patient information by using security risk assessment tools. However, numerous users of electronic health records do not use these critical tools because there are not well known. I have observed many EHR systems, leading me to believe the importance of an EHR software that will integrate HIPAA compliant technology without a middle man such as HIPAA One; putting this responsibility on software designers instead of practices. 1. Earl, Elizabeth. Health IT & CIO Review. 16 Februrary 2015. 01 March 2016. <http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/healthcare-information-technology/a-history-of-ehrs-10-things-to-know.html>. 2. Health IT. n.d. https://www.healthit.gov/providers-professionals/security-risk-assessment-tool. 01 March 2016. 3. HIPAA One. n.d. 05 March 2016.