Mobile Devices, Cloud Computing: What Healthcare CIOs Fear Most

Although mobile apps that share files through the cloud are gaining in popularity in the consumer market, these apps can be unsafe in a clinical setting according to a recent study by the Ponemon Institute.

Many organizations are not taking the necessary steps to protect regulated data, such as protected health information (PHI), on mobile devices and in the cloud, finds the institute's survey. In fact, 54 percent of survey respondents have had on average five data breach incidents involving the loss or theft of a mobile device containing regulated data.

Approximately 33 percent of respondents said that they need to access PHI to do their work. Nevertheless, only 15 percent of survey participants knew of HIPAA's security requirements for regulated data on mobile devices despite 33 percent of respondents indicating that they are part of a HIPAA covered entity. [...]