Question

In order to dampen the effect of a potential data breach or accidental release of records a health care company has decided to remove a lot of personally identifiable information in its health records, like names, phone numbers and so on. In its place, along with all medical information, they plan to store ONLY the gender, age, and zip code of the patient.

Give your opinion: Is this health care company doing enough to protect the personal information of patients? If yes, explain why this is the best they can do. If no, explain what they should do instead. (Limit your response to a few sentences).

Answer 1

Simply removing names and phone numbers from health records and retaining only gender, age, and zip code might not be enough to fully protect patient privacy. Additional measures such as data anonymization, pseudonymization, and encryption should be considered to meet legal and ethical standards like those outlined in HIPAA.

Step-by-step explanation:

The healthcare company's decision to remove personally identifiable information from health records and retain only the gender, age, and zip code may not be sufficient to protect the personal information of patients. While this is a step towards protecting privacy, these details, in conjunction with medical information, could potentially lead to re-identification of individuals due to the specificity they provide when combined. Adding to the inherent risks of data breaches and accidental releases, there are also legal considerations set by laws such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), which require strict confidentiality.

To enhance privacy protection, the company should consider techniques like data anonymization and pseudonymization, which involve masking or altering information so that individuals cannot be easily identified without additional data. Moreover, robust security measures, such as encryption and access controls, should be implemented alongside consistent privacy risk assessments to ensure compliance with legal and ethical standards.