Such is the technology Cylink and other Silicon Valley computer security firms are offering those in the health-care industry trying to comply with pending federal regulations requiring secure digital medical records. The law does not mandate what security technology health-care organizations must use, but instead gives them two years to implement some technology that will enable them to comply with the new regulations. Digital pass keys must be developed so that only certain medical personnel get access to a given patient's medical records. Only Dr. Jones, for example, can view this patient's record, not Dr. Smith. Medical records must be scrambled when transmitted from, say, the medical lab to the hospital so the data can't be intercepted enroute.
Verification is necessary to show that the document sent is the same as the one received.
In this way the sender cannot repudiate the document's integrity. Health-care organizations are procrastinating investing in medical records security, because they tend to invest in technology that advances patient care but skimp on technology for hospital administration, Mr. Crowell says. But I haven't adjusted my thinking one way or another because I think it's still too far out. While some health-care organizations are doing pilot projects, security companies can't close the sale until their customers decide what type of security to use, he says. For example, biometrics technology provides access to secure documents through fingerprint identification.