– The healthcare institutions need more money to digitize properly and safely. Achieving good solutions that meet the requirements of the law is very resource-intensive. This takes time and costs money, says director Line Coll of the Norwegian Data Protection Authority. The management of the Norwegian Data Protection Authority is concerned that the cuts that the country’s hospitals must now implement in order to meet their budgets will affect the hospitals’ IT security. – In the revised budget, the government must earmark significant money to safeguard IT security and privacy in the country’s hospitals, says Coll. But the Ministry of Health and Care Services will not earmark money for digitalisation. – No, there will not be separate earmarked funds for IT security now. That is not how we manage hospitals. They have a task to manage which is about investments in expertise, construction, ICT and medical technology equipment. The hospitals must prioritize within the framework provided. Ensuring ICT security is part of the hospital’s mission, says State Secretary Ellen Rønning-Arnesen (Ap). Earlier this winter, the government proposed an extra 2.5 billion for the country’s health institutions. In addition, the hospitals will be compensated for the strong price and wage growth. This does not hold, the Norwegian Data Protection Authority believes. – Ear tagging is absolutely crucial so that the money does not get lost in other big drags, which we see is completely precarious in the healthcare system, says Coll in the Danish Data Protection Authority. NO EARMARKING: State Secretary Ellen Rønning-Arnesen rejects that the Ministry of Health and Care will earmark money for IT security in the healthcare institutions Photo: Olav Døvik / news Great lift The country’s hospitals are in the middle of major digitization processes where the systems for, among other things, storing patient data are being modernized. Within a short time, the healthcare institutions must spend hundreds of millions of kroner to get more efficient and user-friendly computer systems. – Most healthcare organizations are involved in large, comprehensive digitization projects at many different levels. Then more money is needed to properly develop and establish such solutions. It comes as a demand from both politicians and users, that more efficient and good solutions should be developed, says Coll. The big digitization promise is therefore taking place at the same time as the hospitals have to implement significant cutbacks. According to the Data Protection Authority, this does not add up. Here it is feared that the management of the country’s hospitals will be forced to choose easy solutions in order to save money. – We at the Norwegian Data Protection Authority see the pressure on savings and cuts in the healthcare system as a major risk in relation to taking shortcuts to achieve solutions, Coll points out. CRISIS: Many hospitals have very challenging finances. this applies to, among other things, Ullevål hospital Photo: Fredrik Hagen / NTB Roper varsko The consequences of poor IT security can be dramatic both for the hospital staff and not least in terms of consequences for patients. The risk is high that patient data goes astray, that critical information about patients’ health is not available when medical personnel need it, or that data disappears completely, the Norwegian Data Protection Authority believes. The Norwegian Data Protection Authority guides the healthcare organizations in digitization projects and detects danger signals. – We call for caution in relation to the digitization pressure and the level you see in healthcare organizations today compared to the financial resource needs which are obvious and which are not covered, says Line Coll. – Safe digitization is fundamental for trust in our shared healthcare services. It is good that the Norwegian Data Protection Authority takes this seriously, because we are completely dependent on trust being there. It is about sensitive data for our citizens and we must always make sure that the data is well looked after and that all security requirements are met, says State Secretary Ellen Rønning-Arnesen
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The Norwegian Data Protection Authority calls out warnings about IT security in hospitals – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
