In the United States, the Healthcare Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) places stringent requirements on healthcare providers and payers for handling confidential patient records. Whenever a patient’s medical records are requested and transferred, careful audit trails that include stamping the records with an identifier for each party that accesses the information is required. According to a recent report, as of the end of 2005 only the largest healthcare providers and payers have implemented these requirements due to the complexity and cost involved. Other countries have implemented different and sometimes more stringent requirements.
EdgeNode is an ideal platform for creating patient record exchange environments in which the privacy of the medical data exchanged is ensured, and is auditable on a non-reputable basis. EdgeNode’s powerful message transformation capabilities make integrating those who need patient information, including clinics, hospitals, and payer systems, easy and cost-effective. EdgeNode’s distributed architecture ensures that sensitive information is only stored at those locations duly authorized to have that information, avoiding the need for copies at central processing sites. And, EdgeNode’s block level PKI security and ability to access services for identity management enable complex and robust privacy to ensure access only to those with the right. |
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