The need for physical and logical security convergence in the health-care industry are achingly clear--as are the same kinds of obstacles, internal and regulatory, that affect many other vertical industries trying to achieve convergence. Health care is especially worth watching because the industry's struggles to address privacy and security issues are hampering its ability to improve its services, increase efficiencies and reduce costs. Those are exactly the benefits touted for physical and logical security convergence.
In health-care settings, that convergence must address the security, privacy and usability of electronic health records (EHRs). From large metropolitan medical centers to smaller community hospitals to physician offices, EHRs aggregate patient data contained in dozens of disparate computer applications to create a single, unified, historic view of a patient's health history and care. In theory, physicians and caregivers should make better treatment decisions when they have a comprehensive medical history at their fingertips.
The issue is keeping EHR data secure and private, in compliance with a growing body of federal regulations. The American Health Information Management Association recently released its preliminary analysis of yet more privacy and security rules called for in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), Congress' $787 billion economic stimulus bill.
ARRA's health-care data security requirements, though vague, make it clear health-care providers will need to know who is accessing what data, when, where and possibly even why. That sounds like a job for converged security applications, ranging from IP cameras trained on sensitive work areas and strong authentication devices integrated with identity management and user provisioning systems on the IT side.
In Imprivata's Identity Management Trends In Healthcare 2009 survey, 73 percent of the responding health care IT specialists said EHR development was one of their top three budget priorities; security came next at 53 percent and network upgrades at 48 percent. In another query, 35 percent said they are considering implementing user account provisioning.
Those IT priorities represent opportunities for physical security and privacy officers to partner with IT to create converged, and therefore stronger, security strategies and solutions. That's a prescription with efficacy well beyond a hospital's walls.
By Sharon J. Watson
Query: What is driving the convergence of physical and logical security initiatives within your company?
In health-care settings, that convergence must address the security, privacy and usability of electronic health records (EHRs). From large metropolitan medical centers to smaller community hospitals to physician offices, EHRs aggregate patient data contained in dozens of disparate computer applications to create a single, unified, historic view of a patient's health history and care. In theory, physicians and caregivers should make better treatment decisions when they have a comprehensive medical history at their fingertips.
The issue is keeping EHR data secure and private, in compliance with a growing body of federal regulations. The American Health Information Management Association recently released its preliminary analysis of yet more privacy and security rules called for in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), Congress' $787 billion economic stimulus bill.
ARRA's health-care data security requirements, though vague, make it clear health-care providers will need to know who is accessing what data, when, where and possibly even why. That sounds like a job for converged security applications, ranging from IP cameras trained on sensitive work areas and strong authentication devices integrated with identity management and user provisioning systems on the IT side.
In Imprivata's Identity Management Trends In Healthcare 2009 survey, 73 percent of the responding health care IT specialists said EHR development was one of their top three budget priorities; security came next at 53 percent and network upgrades at 48 percent. In another query, 35 percent said they are considering implementing user account provisioning.
Those IT priorities represent opportunities for physical security and privacy officers to partner with IT to create converged, and therefore stronger, security strategies and solutions. That's a prescription with efficacy well beyond a hospital's walls.
By Sharon J. Watson
Query: What is driving the convergence of physical and logical security initiatives within your company?
The need for physical and logical security convergence in the health-care industry are achingly clear--as are the same kinds of obstacles, internal and regulatory, that affect many other vertical industries trying to achieve convergence. Health care is especially worth watching because the industry's struggles to address privacy and security issues are hampering its ability to improve its services, increase efficiencies and reduce costs. Those are exactly the benefits touted for physical and logical security convergence.
In health-care settings, that convergence must address the security, privacy and usability of electronic health records (EHRs). From large metropolitan medical centers to smaller community hospitals to physician offices, EHRs aggregate patient data contained in dozens of disparate computer applications to create a single, unified, historic view of a patient's health history and care. In theory, physicians and caregivers should make better treatment decisions when they have a comprehensive medical history at their fingertips.
The issue is keeping EHR data secure and private, in compliance with a growing body of federal regulations. The American Health Information Management Association recently released its preliminary analysis of yet more privacy and security rules called for in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), Congress' $787 billion economic stimulus bill.
ARRA's health-care data security requirements, though vague, make it clear health-care providers will need to know who is accessing what data, when, where and possibly even why. That sounds like a job for converged security applications, ranging from IP cameras trained on sensitive work areas and strong authentication devices integrated with identity management and user provisioning systems on the IT side.
In Imprivata's Identity Management Trends In Healthcare 2009 survey, 73 percent of the responding health care IT specialists said EHR development was one of their top three budget priorities; security came next at 53 percent and network upgrades at 48 percent. In another query, 35 percent said they are considering implementing user account provisioning.
Those IT priorities represent opportunities for physical security and privacy officers to partner with IT to create converged, and therefore stronger, security strategies and solutions. That's a prescription with efficacy well beyond a hospital's walls.
By Sharon J. Watson
Query: What is driving the convergence of physical and logical security initiatives within your company?
In health-care settings, that convergence must address the security, privacy and usability of electronic health records (EHRs). From large metropolitan medical centers to smaller community hospitals to physician offices, EHRs aggregate patient data contained in dozens of disparate computer applications to create a single, unified, historic view of a patient's health history and care. In theory, physicians and caregivers should make better treatment decisions when they have a comprehensive medical history at their fingertips.
The issue is keeping EHR data secure and private, in compliance with a growing body of federal regulations. The American Health Information Management Association recently released its preliminary analysis of yet more privacy and security rules called for in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), Congress' $787 billion economic stimulus bill.
ARRA's health-care data security requirements, though vague, make it clear health-care providers will need to know who is accessing what data, when, where and possibly even why. That sounds like a job for converged security applications, ranging from IP cameras trained on sensitive work areas and strong authentication devices integrated with identity management and user provisioning systems on the IT side.
In Imprivata's Identity Management Trends In Healthcare 2009 survey, 73 percent of the responding health care IT specialists said EHR development was one of their top three budget priorities; security came next at 53 percent and network upgrades at 48 percent. In another query, 35 percent said they are considering implementing user account provisioning.
Those IT priorities represent opportunities for physical security and privacy officers to partner with IT to create converged, and therefore stronger, security strategies and solutions. That's a prescription with efficacy well beyond a hospital's walls.
By Sharon J. Watson
Query: What is driving the convergence of physical and logical security initiatives within your company?
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