Calderdale Royal Hospital, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom.
Calderdale Royal Hospital, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom.
Int J Med Inform. 2014 May;83(5):385-91. doi: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2014.02.002. Epub 2014 Feb 18.
We specifically identified the hospital desktop computer as a potential source of breaches in confidentiality. We aimed to evaluate if there was accessible, unprotected, confidential information stored on the desktop screen on computers in a district general hospital and if so, how a teaching intervention could improve this situation.
An unannounced spot check of 59 ward computers was performed. Data were collected regarding how many had confidential information stored on the desktop screen without any password protection. An online learning module was mandated for healthcare staff and a second cycle of inspection performed.
A district general hospital.
Two doctors conducted the audit. Computers in clinical areas were assessed. All clinical staff with computer access underwent the online learning module.
An online learning module regarding data protection and confidentiality.
In the first cycle, 55% of ward computers had easily accessible patient or staff confidential information stored on their desktop screen. This included handovers, referral letters, staff sick leave lists, audits and nursing reports. The majority (85%) of computers accessed were logged in under a generic username and password. The intervention produced an improvement in the second cycle findings with only 26% of computers being found to have unprotected confidential information stored on them.
The failure to comply with appropriate confidential data protection regulations is a persistent problem. Education produces some improvement but we also propose a systemic approach to solving this problem.
我们特别指出医院台式电脑可能是机密泄露的潜在源头。我们旨在评估在地区综合医院的计算机上，是否存在可访问、未受保护、存储在台式屏幕上的机密信息，如果存在，教学干预措施如何改善这种情况。
对 59 台病房计算机进行了一次突击检查。收集了关于有多少台计算机在没有任何密码保护的情况下将机密信息存储在台式屏幕上的数据。要求医护人员参加在线学习模块，并进行第二轮检查。
一家地区综合医院。
两名医生进行了审计。评估了临床区域的计算机。所有具有计算机访问权限的临床工作人员都参加了在线学习模块。
关于数据保护和机密性的在线学习模块。
在第一轮检查中，55%的病房计算机的台式屏幕上容易访问患者或员工的机密信息。其中包括交接班记录、转诊信、员工病假清单、审计和护理报告。访问的大多数计算机（85%）都是使用通用用户名和密码登录的。干预措施在第二轮检查中取得了一些改善，只有 26%的计算机被发现存储了未受保护的机密信息。
未能遵守适当的机密数据保护法规是一个持续存在的问题。教育措施会产生一些改善，但我们还提出了一种系统性的方法来解决这个问题。
