Working in the healthcare setting means having to deal with risks on a regular basis. In the wake of the recent technological breakthrough and the transfer to the realm of information technology, an opportunity to create a safe healthcare environment by managing information in the digital environment has emerged (Murphy, 2015). However, when providing the specified opportunity to the target audience, one must bear in mind that the technology under analysis needs the application of certain skills and the knowledge of the basics of information security.
The use of the tablet that everyone can access may lead to the risk of patients’ personal data being stolen. To address the risk in question, one will have to reinforce the security system by introducing passwords and login details for each participant as well as teaching the target audience the basics of information security and data management.
It is, therefore, strongly recommended that a series of short yet courses introducing the nurses working in the hospital to the basics of information management should be provided. For this purpose, the team manager will have to adopt the principles of transformative leadership so that the staff could be able to alter their traditional behavioral patterns as far as the security issues are concerned (Miner, 2015). The courses in question will presumably take approximately three months and require the participation of all members of the facility.
The courses will be split into half-an-hour sessions (a total of 60) containing a ten-minute presentation with detailed guidelines and several tasks required to train the new skills. At the end of every fifth session, the staff will be provided with a short exam aimed at testing their skills.
Moreover, the employees will have to recognize the necessity to promote awareness regarding the subject matter among the patients as well, detailing the specifics of the new approach and explaining how to maintain security levels high. In other words, the way, in which people perceive the idea of information security, will have to be altered so that they could develop a responsible attitude toward the issue of security. In light of the above quality, one should bring the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) up as the foundation for developing the required behavioral pattern among the staff members.
According to the existing definition, the phenomenon of CSR will help promote an active acquisition of the necessary skills, as well as make the staff perform their duties in a more responsible manner. The introduction of SCR in the designated setting is especially important as the lack of concern among the staff may lead to not only the provision of information security but also a better understanding of their roles and responsibilities (Day, 2014).
In addition, the security of the system itself must be reinforced with the help of the existing IT tools and innovations. For instance, the adoption of a set of strong passwords that every participant will be provided with should be viewed as an absolute necessity. Herein lies the need to include a random password generator tool that will help create strong ID numbers. One might argue that creating an unbreakable password is practically impossible since it will contain the existing symbols.
However, a closer look at the way, in which traditional tools for breaking passwords operate, will reveal that the probability of unlocking access to the database protected by a randomly generated password containing twelve symbols (including uppercase (26) and lowercase (26) letters, numbers (10), and symbols (10), the total of 72) equals approximately 1/7,35904E+21, and the process of breaking through the security shield will require several days..
Needless to say, the very system of security needs to be enhanced as well. Apart from teaching the staff and the patients the essentials of IT security principles, one will also have to make sure that the databases are password-protected as well. More importantly, the IT department will have to adopt the standard MD5 algorithm so that the data could be encrypted properly and secured safely in the cloud. Although the existing data shows that even the MD5 system is vulnerable to a cyber attack, the very promotion of a responsible attitude towards the security issue is likely to affect the facility positively (Oppel, 2010).
Although the creation of a tablet that anyone can edit and add their suggestions to opens the patients and the staff to the threat of data being stolen, active training of the staff’s skills and the promotion of knowledge-related IT information management will help address the emergent risks. While the training process may occur at a comparatively slow pace, it is expected that the staff will be able to provide the patients with the necessary information and guide them through the process of using the tablet after the training session is over. Once the facility members recognize the necessity to promote awareness among the target audience and acquire the corresponding IT skills, the security rates in the hospital setting will increase significantly.
Reference List
Day, D. (2014). The Oxford handbook of leadership and organizations. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Miner, J. B. (2015). Organizational behavior 4: From theory to practice. New York, NY: Routledge.
Murphy, S. (2015). Healthcare information security and privacy. New York City, NY: McGraw Hill Professional.
Oppel, A. J. (2010). Databases DeMYSTiFieD. (2nd ed.). New York City, NY: McGraw-Hill.