title: Protection of confidentiality in the computer-based patient record.
abstract: To evaluate the confidentiality of the patients' data in the electronic patient records designed by members of the Center for Clinical Computing in Boston, we examined the accessibility of the computer-stored medical records of two groups of patients at Boston's Beth Israel Hospital: celebrities, hospital employees, and their relatives (VIPs) and other patients (non-VIPs). We studied how often authorized clinicians gained access to computer-stored data on the two types of patients and whether look-up patterns differed if the data concerned a VIP. Our results suggest that the measures used to maintain data confidentiality at Beth Israel Hospital are adequate.
authors.affiliation: Center for Clinical Computing, Beth Israel Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Safran
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rind
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Citroen
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Bakker
authors.forename: W V
authors.initials: WV
authors.lastname: Slack
authors.forename: H L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Bleich
mesh_terms: D001900:Boston; D016494:Computer Security; D003219:Confidentiality; D006753:Hospital Records; D006801:Humans; D016347:Medical Records Systems, Computerized