HOW SECURE IS YOUR HEALTH INFORMATION

IN THE CLOUD?

By Ulela Mae Hill, CCA

University of Cincinnati-Clermont
Associates Degree
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CONFIDENTIALITY, SECURITY, AND PRIVACY

Privacy - information about one person

“A right”
Confidentiality - keeping private information
shared with a second person a secret
“A condition”…and a responsibility

Security - controls used to protect

confidential information from unauthorized
people.
“A safeguard”

“Not just collection of data that you are guarding –it’s a life”
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information
Technology
 CLOUD COMPUTING

 The delivery of computing services—servers, storage, databases,

networking, software, analytics, and more—over the Internet (“the cloud”).
 On-demand , self-service Internet infrastructure that enables the user to
access resources .
 Example – Health Cloud
- This product is part of the Salesforce company’s new push to change
how doctors and healthcare providers effectively manage the health of
patients across caregiver networks.
- Many hospitals are empowering patients to be proactive in managing
their own healthcare through CRM engagements.
- Combines data from multiple sources—electronic medical records,
medical devices, even wearables—into a single location.
- Almost 83% of all healthcare organizations have, today, adopted
Cloud-Based Apps.
 CLOUD COMPUTING MODELS
• Software as a service (SaaS): The applications (e.g., EHRs) are hosted by a
cloud service provider and made available to customers over the Internet.
• Platform as a service (PaaS): The development tools (e.g., operation
systems) are hosted in the cloud and accessed through a browser. With
PaaS, developers can build Web applications without installing any tools
on their computer.
• Infrastructure as a service (IaaS): The cloud user outsources the equipment
used to support operations, including storage, hardware, servers, and
networking components. The provider owns the equipment.
BENEFITS OF CLOUD COMPUTING
Risks of Cloud Computing
 HIPAA LAWS IMPACTING CLOUD COMPUTING
IN HEALTHCARE

 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ) is United

States legislation that provides data privacy and security provisions for
safeguarding medical information.
 Privacy Rule an entity may not use or disclose protected health information
unless as permitted or required by the Rule, or as authorized in writing by
the individual affected.
 Security Rule complements the Privacy Rule and deals specifically with
Electronic Protected Health Information (EPHI). It lays out three types of
security safeguards required for compliance: administrative, physical, and
technical. The Rule identifies various security standards for each of these
types. Required specifications must be adopted and administered as
dictated by the Rule.
 Under HIPAA and the HITECH Act, EHR vendors, computer software
companies, Health Information Exchanges, and many other providers that
are responsible for data analysis, processing, or storage, are considered
Business Associates.
 HIPAA requires reporting of security incidents, impermissible uses and
disclosures of PHI, and breaches.
 References

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healthcare
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 What is cloud computing? A beginner's guide | Microsoft Azure. (n.d.). Retrieved February 25, 2018, from
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