Healthcare Data Governance, Privacy, and Security -- A Conceptual Framework

Abstract

The abundance of data has transformed the world in every aspect. It has become the core element in decision making, problem solving, and innovation in almost all areas of life, including business, science, healthcare, education, and many others. Despite all these advances, privacy and security remain critical concerns of the healthcare industry. It is important to note that healthcare data can also be a liability if it is not managed correctly. This data mismanagement can have severe consequences for patients and healthcare organisations, including patient safety, legal liability, damage to reputation, financial loss, and operational inefficiency. Healthcare organisations must comply with a range of regulations to protect patient data. We perform a classification of data governance elements or components in a manner that thoroughly assesses the healthcare data chain from a privacy and security standpoint. After deeply analysing the existing literature, we propose a conceptual privacy and security driven healthcare data governance framework.