PHIA

PHIA is the Personal Health Information Act of the province of Manitoba. This legislation lays out what we have to do to make sure patient data is not compromised.

As health care workers we all signed the Personal Health Information Act. While paper documentation of personal health information has to be handled respectfully and in accordance with security policies, digital data needs to be treated with even more caution. The reason being is that it is easily reproduced and communicated. With this newer PDA technology it is important that we make an added effort surrounding data security and set the standards for future projects.

There are several security measures in place. First, a strong password on the PDA that uses capitals, numbers and at least 7 digits. The next layer of security is at the HanDBase program level. Of the data collected on each patient any patient identifiers have been encrypted. This encryption extends to the backup files on the computer used for synchronization.

On the computer, the computer itself is password protected, and the Access application is also password protected. The computer used for this is located in a locked office with limited access. The data on the computer is dumped onto a folder on the regional. Only the data collectors of a specific hospital and the data managers have access to this folder.

Discussion

• The computer at 7 Oaks is in a locked office, but the office is accessed by many other people. There have been attempts by local staff to use the computer. Is this secure? Ttenbergen 09:03, 11 June 2008 (CDT)

Additional Info Required

• actual PHIA legislation link
• update