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Protecting patients, clinicians and data

Procuring new equipment means spending money but given the efficiencies, security and improvement in patient care which the use of digital dictation offers, trusts cannot afford to ignore it as an option, reports Richard Mackillican

The case for digital dictation has never been stronger. Not only can it yield substantial cost efficiencies but, more importantly, it has been shown to improve the quality of care delivered to patients whilst increasing the speed at which patients receive that care.

This helps trusts hit government targets, whilst also fulfilling current economic obligations forced upon the NHS- as a result of the recent financial crisis -to deliver better care for less.

Along with helping to improve patient care, the use of digital dictation can also enable trusts to significantly improve the security of their patients’ data. Given that healthcare facilities which still use analogue dictation equipment are reliant on the data stored upon the analogue tapes- which are both easily lost or in the worst case stolen - those facilities therefore run the risk of losing confidential data.

Because of recent media attention around various cases of public sector data loss, the government has been forced into acting and has suggested that the Information Commissioners Office be given new powers, designed to deter any further personal data security breaches. These new powers would allow the ICO to order organisations, including NHS trusts, to pay up to £500,000 as a penalty for serious breaches of the Data Protection Act.

Commenting after the government put these new powers before Parliament in January, the Information Commissioner, Christopher Graham, said: “Getting data protection right has never been more important than it is today.”

He said that when things go wrong, a security breach can cause real harm and great distress to thousands of people and that the penalties which the ICO's proposed new powers would allow it to impose on organisations would 'act as a deterrent and to promote compliance with the Data Protection Act.'

The ICO has also said that it would look at each case individually and then fine the organisation accordingly. This means that if a trust loses a dictation tape or it ends up in the wrong hands, then although they might not be fined the full amount, it could still end up being an extremely costly error; not just financially, but also in regards to the loss of the trust’s reputation.

However because of the nature of digital dictation technology, the risk of data loss can be greatly reduced. This is because the dictated recordings are sent digitally to the software which the clinical secretaries work from. In short, this means no more lost or broken tapes.

Better data security in NHS organisations also comes down to personal accountability which means being accountable for the equipment that a clinician uses. Just like every series decision must be accounted for, so should the use of technology to record medical information.

One method which has recently become available to trusts through the use of digital dictation is the use of biometric fingerprint scanners to protect clinicians’ data on the voice recorder. This means that only designated doctor/s (Up to x10 per device) can record and access their information through the device, ensuring total security for the data on the handset. Portable dictation is key for mobile working but should the device get lost or stolen you can be assured your data is protected.

This kind of security feature is so advanced that it is only available on one model of digital dictation handset, the Olympus DS 5000 iD, but given the benefits, I am sure that this kind of facility is going to enable many trusts to improve the security of their clinicians’ dictation from now on.

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