Healthcare data management issues and the eCert solution

While our paper-based records and documents are gradually digitized, security concerns about how such electronic data is stored and transmitted have increased. This has a serious impact on our healthcare information system, as it contains sensitive patient data. The prevention of unauthorized modification and loss of records is highly important in the healthcare sector. What´s more, information owners have increasing demands regarding their rights of ownership. Therefore, a secured user-centric healthcare information management system is not only required but also important. This paper presents a protocol for the management of healthcare information in the form of a securely distributed eHealthcare document, the eHealth-eCert. By analysis of the eHealthcare problem domain, a system has been derived with both eCert supported functions and eHealthcare unique features.