Managing Privacy, Confidentiality and Security: Introduction

One of the most difficult challenges facing healthcare is how to manage privacy, confidentiality and security. Sometimes this is because of misunderstanding, unfounded apprehension, or specific fears; and at other times privacy and security issues are convenient to blame when other causes are at work, such as lack of trust or competitive instincts.  In either case, it is critical that all parties learn about and understand the underlying principles on which trust and consensus may be built.

The key to information sharing is reaching agreement across the participants as to the principles, policies, and procedures that each will follow in safely and securely handling the information that is to be shared.  Only when trust has developed through a consensus process will future initiatives be successful; it cannot be imposed from the top down.  This module lays out a summary of the principles for managing privacy, confidentiality and security and provides resources to inform discussions about these concerns.

This module of the Toolkit provides:

• A shared vision for managing privacy, confidentiality and security
• Guiding principles for managing privacy, confidentiality and security
• Broad strategies and actions to further study this issue and arrive at consensus
• Best practices and community experiences in managing privacy, confidentiality and security
• Comprehensive resources and tools to help inform discussions about managing privacy, confidentiality and security
• Consensus legislation related to managing privacy, confidentiality and security
• Our leadership, working groups and staff who are contributing to this area of work.