Secure provision of patient-centered health information technology services in public networks—leveraging security and privacy features provided by the German nationwide health information technology infrastructure

Abstract

Patient-centered health information technology services (PHS) provide personalized electronic health services to patients. Since provision of PHS entails handling sensitive medical information, a special focus on information security and privacy aspects is required. We present information security and privacy requirements for PHS and examine how security features of large-scale, inter-organizational health information technology networks, like the German health information technology infrastructure (HTI), can be used for ensuring information security and privacy of PHS. Moreover, we illustrate additional security measures that complement the HTI security measures and introduce a guideline for provision of PHS while ensuring information security and privacy. Our elaborations lead to the conclusion that security features of health information technology networks can be used to create a solid foundation for protecting information security and privacy in patient-centered health information technology services offered in public networks like the Internet.