Assessing security issues associated with nationwide electronic health records System or e-health in England.

[Year of Publication]

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would take this opportunity to thank my research supervisor, family and friends for their support and guidance without which this research would not have been possible.

DECLARATION

I [type your full first names and surname here], declare that the contents of this dissertation/thesis represent my own unaided work, and that the dissertation/thesis has not previously been submitted for academic examination towards any qualification. Furthermore, it represents my own opinions and not necessarily those of the University.

Signed __________________ Date _________________

Abstract

Globally, the healthcare industry has been benefited a lot by the implementation of latest technology. The electronic equipment has saved lives of many and has made the treatments of distant and remote patients very easy. Mobile computing has been widely accepted and introduced in the health care industry of United Kingdom. The e healthy systems have been installed in almost all the hospitals of England and they did promise to benefit both patients and health care practitioners. Unfortunately, the image that e health systems and electronic health record systems have created on the minds of patients is a negative one. The insecurities of the patients regarding these systems have increased with a significant increase in patient data theft attempts. The data transmission is insecure which causes insecure data processing and storage. This paper aims to highlight the key security issues related with the e health systems which have been implemented and installed all across the health care settings of United Kingdom. The preventive steps have also been discussed which have been taken so far but still there is a lot need and much room available for further improvements in order to make sure that the medical and personal information of the patients is kept safe anyhow. Mixed method approach has been adapted as the methodology of this paper and interviews have been conducted with three groups. Future recommendations regarding the necessary steps that should be taken in order to make the system more secure are also discussed.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTII

DECLARATIONIII

ABSTRACTIV

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION1

1.1.Introduction1

1.2.Background of Study2

1.3.Research Questions4

1.4.Aims and Objectives5

1.5.Significance of the study5

1.6.Structure of the study7

1.7.Limitation of the study7

1.8.Time Scale8

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW10

2.1.Introduction10

2.2.What is E-health12

2.3.Forms of e-health13

2.4.Security issues in e-health14

2.5.Types of security issues14

2.6.System failure issues15

2.7.Design issues16

Authentication16

Integrity17

Non-repudiation17

2.8.E-health Systems Security17

Secure Data Transmission17

Secure Data Processing18

Secure Data storage18

2.9.Health Care Data Encryption19

2.10.Practices for prevention from data theft20

2.11.United Kingdom e-health system: implementation and issues22

2.12.Future opportunities of e-health25

2.13.UK e-health system and processes26

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY30

3.1.Introduction30

3.2.Research Strategy and Design31

3.2.1.Mix method31

3.3.Data Collection Techniques32

3.3.1.Primary data33

3.3.2.Secondary Data34

3.3.3.Triangulation34

3.4.Participants of the Study34

3.5.Data Analysis Technique(s)35

3.6.Reliability and Validity35

3.7.Ethical issues36

3.8.Summary of Methodology37

CHAPTER # 4: ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION38

4.1.Quantitative Findings38

1.Question Number1:38

2.Question Number 2:38

3.Question Number 3:40

4.Question Number 4:41

5.Question Number 5:42

6.Question Number 6:44

7.Question Number 7:45

8.Question Number 8:46

9.Question Number 9:48

10.Question Number10:49

11.Question Number11:50

12.Question Number12:52

13.Question Number13:53

14.Question Number1454

15.Question Number15:56

16.Question Number16:57

17.Question Number17:58

18.Question Number18:60

4.2.Summary of the findings61

4.3.Qualitative Findings: Descriptive Interviews62

4.3.1.Group 1: IT professionals in UK health care industry62

4.3.2.Group 2: healthcare practitioners and nurses64

4.3.3.Group 3: Patients66

4.4.Summary of interview67

4.5.Matrices to threat and solution of e-health PER security issues68

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION70

REFERENCES73

APPENDICES81



CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Introduction

The confidentiality of the data and the records for the ...