Health Care Information Systems and the Risk of Privacy Issues for the Disabled

Abstract

The healthcare industry is moving towards adoption of electronic health records. There are associated privacy and security implications to this move towards electronic collection and storage of sensitive health information. This chapter suggests that the impact on the privacy and security of health information for disabled individuals is greater than that for the general populace. Contributors to this increased risk are related to the increase in dependence on the clinical care system and the related increase in volume of the data that is collected, stored and exchanged as a function of providing care to this population.