When medical histories, prescriptions, and treatment plans are stored in a tamper-proof manner, clinicians can make informed decisions based on complete and trustworthy information. This reduces the likelihood of medical errors, especially when using HIPAA compliant platforms.
Tamper-proof data management is the systems and technology designed to prevent unauthorized data alterations. According to The World Bank, “Ensuring that personal data are only accessed by authorized users—and for authorized purposes—requires some method of tracking transactions and who has accessed the data and when. Automatic, tamper-proof logging of transactions involving identity data is a best-practice method for enabling both institutional and personal oversight of how these data are being used.” In healthcare, it assists in meeting the requirement by HIPAA to protect patient information against unauthorized access to protected health information (PHI).
Its application is achieved through several mechanisms, including:
At its core, Paubox employs encryption protocols that secure emails containing PHI, making it nearly impossible for unauthorized parties to access or alter the data during transmission. The encryption acts as a tamper-proof mechanism, as any attempt to modify the content would render it unreadable.
The HIPAA compliant email platform's digital signature functionality improves its tamper-proof capabilities by providing a means to verify the sender's authenticity and the email's content. Digital signatures ensure that recipients can confirm that the email has not been altered since it was sent.
Blockchain enhances data security by encrypting patient information and storing it in a tamper-proof format, which prevents unauthorized access.