How health systems can better protect patient privacy

Dr. Eric Liederman of The Permanente Medical Group emphasizes patient communication about cybersecurity as health data threats increase. Noting growing patient reluctance to share medical information and seeking care elsewhere due to distrust, he highlights the importance of demonstrating data protection efforts. Joint governance has led to better patient protection at Kaiser Permanente, increasing trust and reducing friction in data security. Protecting against insider threats such as "snooping"— unauthorized viewing of health records is critically different from typical cybersecurity efforts, requiring creating a culture change and implementing smart surveillance. An audit program curbs the temptation-based snooping, reducing violations by over 90%.

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