Securing Private Keys in Electronic Health Records Using Session-Based Hierarchical Key Encryption

Abstract

Patients want the assurance that the confidentiality of their records accessed through Electronic Health Records (EHR) are safe. With increasing implementation of EHR for health care, privacy concern remains a barrier that limits patients' favorable judgment of this technology. Sensitive records can be compromised and this represents problems in EHRs, which are considered to be more efficient, less error prone, and of higher availability compared to traditional paper health records. In this article, a session based hierarchical key encryption system was developed that allows patient to have full control over certain nodes of their health records. Health records were organized in a hierarchical structure with records further broken down into subcategories. Cryptography was used to encrypt the health records in their different subcategories. Patients' generate a root keys using Blum Blum Shub Algorithm for pseudorandom number generator from which the session-based subkeys were derived, and only authorize users can access these records within a designated period marked as session. The system development demonstrates one way patients' privacy and security can improve using session based hierarchical key encryption system for EHR.

Medication Adherence: A Review and Lessons for Developing Countries

“…Developing countries like Africa still have a long way to go in managing medication and adherence but the use of technology in managing drug prescription and adherence is feasible, even if it is just a reminder app. An electronic prescription is an effective system for measuring adherence, it can reduce the frequency of visit and proximity issues, and the possibility of this has been demonstrated in some simulations [72,73,13,74,75] In developing countries, e-learning is also increasingly becoming popular, this platform can be adapted to solve some of the medication adherence problems, through re-education of patients on the importance of keeping to medication regimens. The remodeling of the health system into a centralized structure can greatly reduce cost in the long run [31], and lastly, there is a need for evidence-based research on the use of reminder apps and other technology in developing countries in order to understand the contextual issue [76].…”

“…Globally, the use of technology in healthcare service delivery (known as eHealth) has the potential to transform healthcare medications management, by providing important personalization and tracking-which can help to reduce the overhead cost associated with fluctuating abidance to medication instructions. [11,12,13]. [11] investigated the projected roles of eHealth systems in supporting and improving the general health of patients and the effectiveness of adherence as medication intervention.…”

A Gamified Technique to Improve Users’ Phishing and Typosquatting Awareness

“…End-users are often lured into breaking security protocols and giving out sensitive information and this is often done through internet fraud, phishing attacks, spams and so on [8]. Many studies have focused on technological interventions in solving cyber-attacks and neglected human weaknesses and vulnerabilities [9], but human errors have been reported to be responsible for 37% of cyberattack incidents that occurred in 2015 particularly in healthcare [10,11]. In 2016, the top causes of cyber-attacks were phishing emails, hacking and malware incidents all of which were also attributed to human errors [10].…”

Assessing staff awareness and effectiveness of educational training on IT security and privacy in a large healthcare organization

“…The theft, loss, or unauthorized use and disclosure of personal health information can have dire consequences. Some of these consequences are discrimination, stigmatization, and psychological or economic harm to the individual 7–9. Additionally, if patients are not confident that their information will be kept secure, they may refrain from disclosing critical information or from seeking treatment 3,10.…”