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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 48(1)

Mitigating the consequences of electronic health record data breaches for patients and healthcare workers

Jeffrey C. L. Looi https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3351-6911 A B * , Stephen Allison B C , Tarun Bastiampillai B C D , Paul A. Maguire A B , Steve Kisely https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4021-2924 B E F and Richard C. H. Looi G
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A Academic Unit of Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine, School of Medicine and Psychology, The Australian National University, Canberra Hospital, Building 4, Level 2, PO Box 11, Garran, Canberra, ACT 2605, Australia.

B Consortium of Australian-Academic Psychiatrists for Independent Policy and Research Analysis (CAPIPRA), Canberra, ACT, Australia.

C College of Medicine and Public Health, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA, Australia.

D Department of Psychiatry, Monash University, Wellington Road, Clayton, Vic., Australia.

E School of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Princess Alexandra Hospital, Ipswich Road, Woolloongabba, Brisbane, Qld, Australia.

F Departments of Psychiatry, Community Health and Epidemiology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, Canada.

G Independent Scholar, Canberra, ACT, Australia.

* Correspondence to: jeffrey.looi@anu.edu.au

Australian Health Review 48(1) 4-7 https://doi.org/10.1071/AH23258
Submitted: 4 December 2023  Accepted: 5 December 2023  Published: 19 December 2023

© 2024 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of AHHA.

Abstract

Electronic health records (EHRs) have been widely adopted in Australian public sector healthcare and will remain an ongoing, essential data system. However, recent substantial data breaches from hacked business data systems in Australian enterprises, as well as international healthcare providers, mean that EHR data breaches are increasingly likely in Australia. Risks include medical identity theft and extortion attempts based on threats to release sensitive patient information. Hacking is now a foreseeable additional risk of medical treatment. Risk mitigation for the consequences of data breaches needs to be considered, as well as support for patients (and families) and healthcare workers. This includes identity theft protection services, cybersecurity insurance, and psychological support.

Keywords: consumers, cyber security, data breach, e-health, electronic health record, health services management, healthcare workers, information management.

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