The impact of data privacy on the healthcare industry

Healthcare companies are constantly consuming and sharing information to build better patient profiles and improve outcomes. Yet a new report reveals that only 70 percent are very or extremely confident in knowing exactly where their sensitive data is.

The study from data privacy specialist Integris shows that of these 50 percent update their inventory of personal data once a year or less, and a mere 17 percent of respondents are able to access sensitive data across five common data source types.

Data privacy has a wider impact on businesses too. Proving compliance with business obligations like data sharing agreements is cited by 67 percent of respondents. Enforcing internal data handling policies like classification and retention by 61 percent. About a quarter of respondents cite the impact on merger and acquisition due diligence (28 percent) and the delivery of AI / ML projects (22 percent). About a third see privacy concerns impacting data lake hygiene (35 percent).

Following the misuse of data sharing agreements like the one between Facebook and Cambridge Analytica, enterprises generally have become more aware of them. But data sharing agreements are relatively common in the healthcare industry. 50 percent of healthcare industry respondents have 50 or more of these sharing agreements in place. However, respondents reported being 61 percent more confident in their ability to be compliant compared to how they perceived their partners.

As you might expect, there is high awareness of data privacy requirements within healthcare, with 91.3 percent of respondents having a data privacy and awareness program in place. That said, only 16 percent of respondents say they are fully prepared for the California Consumer Privacy Act.

The full report is available from the Integris site.

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