After visiting a hospital for the past 20 hours or so I noticed some of the blaring security issues which are probably just overlooked. The most notable issue, which is probably the most serious as well, is the fact that the nurses are rolling carts with computers to scan and enter patient information. Now the fact that they nurses have portable stations is not too much of an issue; its the fact that these stations can access all patient information and they are running Windows XP. While the extended support date is through April 8, 2014 there are a number of security issues that can allow anyone who is really wanting to get access to the system inside. Hopefully, they are planning to do a full upgrade to a newer operating system within the next year. But who knows.... The fact that patient records could possibly be accessed is troublesome. How many other doctors offices they are not big hospitals are using antiquated systems that most likely are not patched correctly or just outdated? While hospitals not only host a lot of patient information, they are often linked to other doctors offices or specialty facilites so that they can easily share patient information. While privacy about health issues has recieved a fair amount of attention, are these HIPAA regulations being followed as they are truely intended?
