Similarly, supplies such as diskettes and magnetic tape must be properly erased or destroyed prior to disposal. Unless access control systems are implemented, confidential patient data can be available for review by any employee. Hospitals have been quick to take advantage of the Internet for research purposes and to exchange medical information for diagnosis and treatment. Absent the use of encryption, these messages can be intercepted en route. Even without Internet connections, some hospitals are establishing community health networks to facilitate the sharing of data between various providers of health care services.
Remote access is another area that needs to be secured.
Many hospitals provide dial-up access to physicians. Systems based on passwords alone can compromised. Hospital staff need to also be made aware that deleting data on a computer system doesn't always result in an erasure. Even text deleted from a word processing document can sometimes be recovered by a recipient. Technology can also be used to protect against some of the vulnerabilities it can create.