THE DEVELOPMENT of modern, high speed, remote access computers has created a revolution in the accumulation, storage, processing, analysis, retrieval, and transmission of data. Urban governments, while not in the vanguard of the computer revolution, have in recent years joined the computer age. In common with other governmental and private agencies, state, regional, and local governments are participating in the information revolution with the development of large numbers of urban information systems. By 1968 there were 188 urban information systems of one kind or another in various stages of implementation in the United States (see Dial, 1968: 1), and it was projected that &dquo;hundreds&dquo; more such systems would be developed during the current decade (Dial, 1968: 12).As the capabilities of computers increase, thought must be given to the social problems created by the new technology. Although the technological problems of urban computers have been the subject of a mass of literature, little has been written on the social implications of urban information systems. Specifically, the literature is almost devoid of commentary on the problem of potential invasion of the right of personal privacy, defined by Justice Louis D. Brandeis as &dquo;the right to be let alone-the most valuable of the rights of man and the right most valued by civilized men&dquo; (Olmstead vs. U.S.).2 Thus, Hearle and Mason's at The University of Iowa Libraries on July 3, 2015 uar.sagepub.com Downloaded from [250] seminal work (1963: 53-55) on urban information systems contains less than two full pages on the problem of confidentiality-and they do not consider it to be a problem. Even where the problem is recognized, little is said about it. Thus, Harold H. Haak (1967), discussing the evolution of a metropolitan data system for San Diego, California, raises the issue, but does nothing more than assert that it is a problem which &dquo;results from the fact that most of the laws regarding confidentiality were written long before anyone could have envisioned the capabilities of electronic data processing.&dquo; Similarly, Dennis G. Price (1967: 23), reviewing the use of computers by state and local governments, devotes one short paragraph to the question of privacy, in which he observes that if and when the problem of compatibility of information is solved, the problem of invasion of privacy arises. But Price says nothing more about it, even in the section of his article (1967: 23-24) concerned with &dquo;possible steps to solutions.&dquo;3There are several reasons why the literature on urban information systems is so sparse when it comes to discussion of the problem of privacy. First, the technical experts who design, improve, maintain, use, and write about such systems honestly do not consider it to be a problem. Thus, Hearle and Mason (1963: 55) conclude that &dquo;the Unified Information System involves no new problems of confidentiality. On the contrary, any required restriction on data access can be enforced more effectively in su...
As the healthcare industry moves towards adoption of electronic collection and storage of health data it becomes increasingly dependent on the successful functioning of these technologies in order to ensure access to this important information. This chapter explores the technical, ethical and legal issues associated with the importance of careful planning and implementation of robust disaster recovery procedures as well as the importance of business continuity activities in assuring that this data is available following a system failure or other event that may introduce risk of data loss.
As the healthcare industry moves towards adoption of electronic collection and storage of health data it becomes increasingly dependent on the successful functioning of these technologies in order to ensure access to this important information. This chapter explores the technical, ethical and legal issues associated with the importance of careful planning and implementation of robust disaster recovery procedures as well as the importance of business continuity activities in assuring that this data is available following a system failure or other event that may introduce risk of data loss.
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