Privacy, Confidentiality, and Security of Public Health Information

Abstract

Public health organizations need to protect the confidentiality of sensitive, identifying information about individuals to maintain the willingness of individuals to disclose such information and to adhere to laws affecting the handling of health information. Safeguarding the privacy, confidentiality, and security of such information is an important undertaking. A public health organization needs to adhere to the basic principles of fair information practices, as incorporated into the Privacy Act of 1974, and to develop and enforce confidentiality policies that govern the handling and release of public health data. Among security measures that an organization can institute to protect the integrity of information and guard against unauthorized access to it are passwords, smart cards, biometrics, and cryptography. In addition, a public health organization needs to be especially vigilant about potential intrusions into its computer systems, and particularly of those systems that rely or reside on the Internet. The use of proxy servers, session password mechanisms, and firewalls can help guard against mischievous attacks from the Internet, while intrusion detection measures can help an organization detect efforts to compromise systems.