Development of security guidelines for existing healthcare systems

As modern healthcare establishments become increasingly dependent upon information systems it is vital to ensure that adequate security is present to safeguard the confidentiality and integrity of data and the availability of systems. Whilst this is now generally recognized in the design of new systems, many existing operational systems have been implemented without security in mind. This paper describes the need for a standardized approach in the protection of existing healthcare systems within Europe and presents an overview of a new set of information security guidelines that have been developed specifically for the medical community. The guidelines discussed have been produced as a deliverable of the Commission of European Communities (CEC) SEISMED (Secure Environment for Information Systems in Medicine) project, under the Advanced Informatics in Medicine (AIM) programme.