HealthcareITNews reported yesterday on this letter that was written by several physician organizations to the ONC.

I wanted to write a couple of quick thoughts on the security aspects raised in the letter. I highlighted relevant parts on pages 1 and 2 of the letter with annotations #1, #2 and #3.

Here then are my thoughts on the three items…

#1

We agree with this point. We have talked about our security related concerns around the EHR Certification process and the Meaningful Use program previously. Here and here are a couple of posts for example.

The first link has our commentary we published on the OIG report being referred to in the letter.

The second linked post on Patient Portals has specific details of our thoughts on the security criteria in the MU and Certification programs. We also discussed specific due diligence recommendations for providers. These recommendations should also apply to Electronic Health Records (EHRs) for the most part.

#2 and #3

These two paragraphs in the letter speak to the Identity and Access Management (IAM) related concerns, in particular around stronger authentication and usability.

We couldn’t agree more on these points. I am also glad the letter highlights the need for strong authentication.

It is no secret that IAM programs in general haven’t lived up to the promise and expectations. Healthcare provider settings in particular provide specific challenges, primarily because of the need for IAM to really be “transparent” and support clinical workflows seamlessly. We know this continues to be a challenge at most healthcare provider organizations. The point being made in the letter should come as no surprise to anyone.

In our view, an effective solution to this problem requires the IAM/HealthIT product vendors as well as IAM/Security consultants to “up” the game.

And then,  healthcare providers (especially the larger ones who have the power and influence to move their vendors to act) have an important role to play in bringing the IAM and HealthIT vendors to the table so we have viable technology options available to us. We first talked about it  at this webinar back in 2013, but I don’t think we are anywhere close to seeing viable technology options yet in leading vendor solutions.

In summary, I think these security related arguments being made in the letter are very valid. However, I am not sure how much ONC can do to move us forward. At best, I think the ONC can only “take the horse to the water” as it were. I really think we need both the IAM and HealthIT vendors to step up and collaborate actively to deliver viable solutions. And the healthcare providers need to push the vendors to do it.

I hope this has been a helpful read. Please don’t hesitate to leave your thoughts below, good or bad.