ABSTRACT
Background The provision of healthcare necessarily involves the generation, collation, storage and access of patient data, in an ethical and legal manner. Furthermore, both patients and managers need to be assured that whatever system is in place is inherently confidential, secure and accountable. The latter implies some form of audit trail to assist in dispute resolution. Traditional paper-based records rely on physical security measures, such as safes, locks and controlled office and/or building access. Moreover, access to patient data belonging to other healthcare providers at remote sites necessarily involves copying, transmitting and securely storing third-party patient records.
