ARCHivEs

The use of computers in health organizations raises questions as to the privacy and confidentiality of automated information. Results of several site visits are forwarded as a means for establishing the state of the art in medical information systems. The literature on the sub-ject, sparse as it is, is reviewed. Afiframework for analyzing the matter of data security is described. The major problem with medical data see-curity is taken to be the uncertainty surrounding the decision as to the required level and degree of security. In order to investigate the di-mensions of the problem several hypotheses are tested with the aid of a Security Attitude Survey which was administered to a sample of physicians and managers. The results of the questionnaire are analysed and lead to the fol-lowing conclusions. First, physicians, much more so than managers, perceive automated data as more susceptible than other data to either accidental or intentional disclosure, modification or destruction