Security and confidentiality in healthcare informatics

In order to provide secure healthcare informatics systems, three different security levels need to be considered: 1) secure healthcare applications to provide user authentication and access control mechanism to healthcare applications, components, and objects.; 2) secure database to provide the protection of the database against unauthorized disclosure, alteration, or distinction of healthcare information by legal personnel; and 3) secure communication infrastructure which provides the protection of healthcare informatics systems from unauthorized attempts to access information or interfere with its operation. The author emphasises the database and communication security. Several issues are learned from experience in the Advanced Research TEstbed on Medical Information System (ARTEMIS) project.