FAIR Aspects of a Health Information Protection and Management System

Abstract

Background Privacy management is a key issue when dealing with storage and distribution of health information. However, FAIR (Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability) principles when sharing information are in increasing demand in several organizations, especially for information generated in public-funded research projects. Objectives The two main objectives of the presented work are the definition of a secure and interoperable modular architecture to manage different kinds of medical content (xIPAMS [x, for Any kind of content, Information Protection And Management System] and HIPAMS [Health Information Protection And Management System]), and the application of FAIR principles to that architecture in such a way that privacy and security are compatible with FAIR. Methods We propose the concept of xIPAMS as a modular architecture, following standards for interoperability, which defines mechanisms for privacy, protection, storage, search, and access to health-related information. Results xIPAMS provides FAIR principles and preserves patient's privacy. For each module, we identify how FAIR principles apply. Conclusions We have analyzed how xIPAMS, and in particular HIPAMS (Health content), support the FAIR principles focusing on security and privacy. We have identified the FAIR principles supported by the different xIPAMS modules, concluding that the four principles are supported. Our analysis has also considered a possible implementation based on the concept of DACS (Document Access and Communication System), a system storing medical documents in a private and secure way. In addition, we have analyzed security aspects of the FAIRification process and how they are provided by xIPAMS modules.