Download full articleIn modern medical environments, healthcare and IT are becoming increasingly intertwined. Digital patient records, smart devices connected to the internet and integrations with third-party applications are a few examples.
When digital technology is used with the intent to provide safe and effective patient outcomes with minimal risk to patients, it becomes critical for medical institutions to have a digital strategy. This is where healthcare organizations can leverage an IT Service Management (ITSM) framework such as ITIL to help assess their operational maturity, define a digital strategy and adopt best practices for compliance and security to ensure that patients and healthcare organizations achieve optimal outcomes while managing risk appropriately.
Some of the biggest risks that the healthcare industry faces today are in compliance and security. Failing to protect patient health information, ensure the safety of medical devices or eliminate security vulnerabilities in legacy systems are several critical examples where missteps or negligence can have devastating consequences for both patients and the institutions caring for them.
ITIL is an excellent source of guidance for any organization using digital technology to provide a product or service of value. It is based on decades of experience and lessons learned by hundreds of ITSM professionals and continues to evolve as technology advances. Moreover, the best practices offered by ITIL are independent of any specific software tools, giving organizations the flexibility to acquire, develop or adapt a software solution that is fit for purpose, secure and compliant. ITIL is particularly useful where complex adaptive systems are involved – systems with many interconnected components that interact with and adapt to each other, often leading to unpredictable behaviour. In a hospital setting, where patients, providers, partners, suppliers and payers all interact with each other based on emerging changes and new information, robust technology is essential to accommodate rapid and effective decision-making in diagnostics and treatment. Patient records need to be accurate, up to date and safe from unauthorized access or distribution. Medical devices should leverage a secure, encrypted connection for transmitting sensitive patient data to legitimate destinations. Third-party billing or legacy applications integrated with other systems should meet the same stringent standards for security and compliance as the host system to prevent fraud, malicious hacking or data leaks.
Of course, technology is not the only aspect of a service. The best technology in the world means nothing if people, processes or partnerships are dysfunctional. For this reason, ITIL 4 emphasizes the four dimensions of ITSM: 1) people and organizations, 2) information and technology, 3) processes and value streams, and 4) partners and suppliers. They are all valid perspectives when an organization is developing its service value system, consisting of:
- Guiding principles (such as the Hippocratic Oath)
- Governance (for example, HIPAA in the U.S., or PIPEDA in Canada)
- Service value chain, or the key activities required to respond to demand and facilitate value realization through the creation or management of products and services
- Practices, such as information security or risk management
- Continual improvement.
To have a successful digital strategy, an organization must assess all the components of its service value system from all four perspectives and determine an action plan to address any gaps. For the purpose of this article, however, we will focus primarily on the information and technology dimension.
The technology used by any organization is essentially a vehicle for conveying useful information and enabling informed decision-making. In healthcare, information technology is especially important due to the high stakes of the decisions involved. Consequently, investments in IT should be carefully and thoughtfully planned. It starts with an evaluation of the current state of an organization’s information models and toolsets, as well as its needs. Compliance and security are fundamental needs to ensure patient safety, adherence to regulations and business sustainability.
ITIL’s information security practice guide prescribes core activities and controls to ensure the required level of confidentiality, integrity, availability, authentication and non-repudiation of information needed to conduct business. Practice success factors include:
- developing and managing information security policies and plans
- mitigating information security risks
- exercising and testing information security management plans
- embedding information security into all aspects of the service value system.
By taking these factors into consideration, healthcare organizations can leverage ITIL’s methodical approach to ITSM to develop, adapt and enhance their systems for optimal compliance and security.
For more insights and expert guidance, explore ITIL-aligned ITSM tools and PeopleCert’s ITIL certifications.