Patient data safety in healthcare industry in Europe

Jul 30 2007

Legislation is promoting the development of healthcare IT infrastructure, while supporting efforts to enhance patient data privacy and security across the European healthcare spectrum.

“The HL7 standard, initially adopted in the United States, has subsequently been adopted by most European countries,” explains Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Vinod S.M. “European legislation emphasises the need for stable IT infrastructure and for improved patient data safety.”

If you are interested in a virtual brochure, which provides manufacturers, end users and other industry participants with an overview of the latest analysis of Patient Data Safety in Healthcare Industry in Europe, send an e-mail to Radhika Menon Theodore, Corporate Communications, at [email protected] with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, e-mail address, city, state and country. We will send you the information through e-mail upon receipt of the above information.

Government investments supporting strong and widely connected IT platforms in various hospitals coupled with initiatives encouraging the implementation of healthcare IT standards are also driving patient data safety across the European healthcare industry.

“Healthcare IT infrastructure has reached a stage where all the platforms are mostly integrated, thereby aiding in the process of interoperability,” adds Mr. Vinod. “During the course of this integration, vendors will be required to ensure data privacy and protection.”

Despite these promising trends, concerns related to data protection and IT security together with the issue of achieving compatibility of varied data formats pose major challenges to patient data safety in Europe.

“Electronic heath records pose security and privacy problems,” elaborates Mr. Vinod. “The degree of access is a major factor associated with this challenge where determining the level of access to be given to each individual creates problems for vendors.”

Each department within an organisation stores data in different formats. Incompatible data formats within departments will present difficulties until interoperability is achieved.

Industry participants should look at standardising data formats and ensuring that only authorised individuals have access to patient data. Partnering with local organisations will also be critical to resolving significant issues related to patient data safety.

Patient Data Safety in Healthcare Industry in Europe is part of the Healthcare & Life Sciences IT Subscription, which also includes research in the following markets: Bioinformatics, EMR, PAS and HIT platforms. All research included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants.