Standards for information security and processes in healthcare

摘要

Purpose - Regardless of who or where we are and when we get sick, we expect healthcare to makernus well and to handle us and our information with care and respect. Today, most healthcarerninstitutions work separately, making the flow of patient information sub-optimal and the use ofrncommon standards practically unheard of. The purpose of this paper is to emphasise the use forrnstandards to improve information security in process-oriented distributed healthcare.rnDesign/methodology/approach - The paper introduces a real-life case which is analysed tornhighlight how and where standards can and should be used in order to improve information securityrnin process-oriented distributed healthcare.rnFindings - In total, 11 flaws or problems in information security and process-orientation arernidentified. From these, six changes are suggested which address how information is handled, andrnhow organizational routines should be standardized.rnResearch limitations/implications - The case setting is Swedish healthcare, but problems can bernshared across international borders. The purpose is to highlight the issues at hand.rnPractical implications - If suggested changes are implemented, healthcare processes will be morernstreamlined and focused on patients. Routines will be standardized and uncertainties thus removed inrnterms of how to act in certain situations.rnOriginality/value - Healthcare and academia has yet to address both document and process issuesrnconcerning standardization in distributed healthcare. There are also few actual cases from a patientrnperspective. This paper provides lessons learned from a real-life case, where results may impact howrnstandardization is addressed in healthcare organizations.