Nonrepudiation controls are security measures that ensure individuals cannot deny responsibility for their actions or communications in a system. In healthcare, this provides a verified audit log of communications related to critical functions within the organization, which may be used for legal purposes in the future.
Nonrepudiation controls consist of security measures for maintaining accountability by providing irrefutable evidence of data exchanges like the sender's identity, message integrity, and proof of receipt.
According to FirstMonday, “The general rule of evidence is that if a person denies a particular signature then it falls upon the relying party to prove that the signature is truly that of the person denying it.” Nonrepudiation allows for organizations to build an evidence base to prove an individual's signature or consent.
Common nonrepudiation techniques:
Digital signatures:
Message logging and retention:
User access controls:
Patient consent verification:
Read receipts and delivery confirmation:
Encrypt metadata:
Related: Access control systems in healthcare
Read receipts work by sending an automatic notification to the sender once the recipient has opened or viewed the message.
It ensures that individuals cannot deny their involvement in communication or a transaction.
A mechanism that regulates who can view, send, or modify information based on predefined permissions.