Governance & Risk Management , Privacy

Sizing Up Consumer Security Concerns

Financial Records Privacy a Bigger Worry than Medical Privacy
A new consumer survey shows that Americans are more concerned about the security of their financial information and personal identifiers than they are about the security of their medical records.About half of Americans are concerned about the security of their medical records, compared with more than 80 percent who are concerned about the security of their financial information and personal identifiers, such as Social Security numbers, the survey shows.

The survey of about 2,400 Americans was conducted by Harris Interactive and sponsored by SafeNet. It showed that, when it comes to concerns about medical record security, the top worry is identity theft, followed by unauthorized access to private information and unauthorized release of records due to internal negligence. About 40 percent of those surveyed believe that their healthcare provider stores their medical records on a computer.

In an interview, Derek Tumulak of SafeNet reviews the survey results, pointing out:

  • There appears to be a lack of consumer awareness of the financial information and personal identifiers contained in medical records, including electronic health records;
  • Americans are more aware of government privacy and security regulations (like HIPAA and the HITECH Act) than consumers in Great Britain, who also were surveyed.
  • Hospitals and physicians need to do a better job of educating patients about the steps they're taking to ensure their privacy is protected.

Tumulak is SafeNet's vice president of product management, focusing on enterprise data protection. He formerly worked at Ingrian, which was acquired by SafeNet.




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