The healthcare sector is very information intensive and is rapidly moving towards the use of information technology and towards electronic communication of healthcare records and other documents among its many actors. In addition, a number of real time telemedicine multimedia applications are being developed. The potential for improved quality of care and more efficient utilisation of resources is considerable. A prerequisite, however, for the routine use of telematics in healthcare, is that the security challenges are met. We have to comply with the legal requirements and to ensure that the public confidence in the way sensitive personal information is managed, can be maintained.
Medical data is particularly sensitive compared to information in many other sectors.
Patient information touches the very heart of each individual and special laws govern the privacy and liability issues of healthcare data. The healthcare professionals involved are held personally liable for safeguarding the patient's privacy. Reliable identification of healthcare professionals is therefore a must before granting access to or exchanging sensitive patient data. The requirement for efficient confidentiality protection while maintaining the possibility of wide interoperability, even cross-border using public networks is well established. Equally important but less recognised are the requirements for making digital documents stored and communicated acceptable as legal evidence.