Security and privacy determinants for a secured cloud-based electronic health record system

Abstract

One of the technologies that have become widely adopted by healthcare institutions is the Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems. According to the International Organization for Standardization, an EHR system is a digital platform that allows multiple authorized users to store, access, and exchange patient related information. EHR systems fall under to main categories, namely; client-server and cloud-based HER. Each of these kinds of systems has unique pros and cons. The primary objective of EHR systems is to ensure timely access to patient records and information as well as integrated, efficient, and quality health. However, there are various risks associated with cloud-based platforms. In an attempt to understand these risks, the papers explore the available literature regarding cloud EHR systems as well as their risks. The review also examines the measures that medical care institutions, as well as cloud service providers, should take to enhance the privacy and security of medical records stored in cloud EHR systems. The results indicated that cloud base EHR systems are prone to multiple security issues such as hacking and leakage of information which compromise the privacy, security, and confidentiality of patient information. However, there are various measures that organizations and cloud service providers can take to minimize the prevalence of privacy and security issues in cloud EHR systems. The common measures include carefully selecting a reliable service provider, putting in place system features that will enhance security and privacy, carefully planning out the process of moving records from traditional storage methods to cloud-based servers and training of employees and patients in regards to the privacy and security of cloud-based EHR systems