ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the application of privacy by design principles to connected healthcare ecosystems. Connected healthcare systems, which facilitate the sharing of patient data between different healthcare providers and institutions, have the potential to improve patient outcomes and streamline healthcare delivery. However, they also raise significant privacy concerns if patient data are not properly secured and protected throughout its lifecycle.
Privacy by design is an approach to data privacy that aims to embed privacy considerations into the design of systems and processes from the outset, rather than as an add-on after the system is built. Privacy by design can be used to ensure that patient data are collected, stored, and shared in a secure and privacy-preserving manner. This chapter outlines the key principles of privacy by design and presents a model for their application to connected healthcare ecosystems.
The chapter also provides an overview of the current regulatory landscape for data privacy in healthcare, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) in the United States and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union. It discusses the challenges associated with regulatory compliance in the context of connected healthcare and explores how privacy by design can be used to ensure compliance with these requirements, as well as new requirements evolving from the development of ISO 31700—consumer protection—privacy by design for consumer goods and services and recent UN recommendations and updates around artificial intelligence and the right to privacy.
Finally, this chapter briefly discusses emerging technologies and approaches that can be used to enhance data privacy in connected healthcare ecosystems. These include technologies such as homomorphic encryption, differential privacy, and blockchain, as well as approaches such as data minimization and de-identification.
This chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the application of privacy by design principles to connected healthcare ecosystems. It is intended for researchers, IT leadership in healthcare, and policymakers who are interested in leveraging big data to improve patient outcomes while ensuring the privacy and security of patient data at every stage of the data lifecycle.
