(NewsNation) — The Trump administration is expected to announce a new initiative on Wednesday aimed at streamlining Americans’ access to health care data, as well as strengthening the security around it.
According to cybersecurity experts, health care data has become up to 40 times more valuable than credit card data on the dark web. In a statement to NewsNation, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said the initiative “aims to build a smarter, more secure and more personalized healthcare system.”
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The plan includes a computer system that allows health information to be shared more securely. It would allow medical professionals in large cities and small towns to have access to the same information.
“They’re trying to create standards so things can flow fluently, and basically think of it as translating the language,” said Marva Bailer, an AI and cybersecurity expert. “This will help not only the patient, but it will also help the providers be more accurate when they’re documenting their care.”
According to Bailer, this isn’t the first time the federal government has become involved in health care records; it has previously helped strengthen security around records from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
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The initiative also looks to support HIPAA, or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. In the past, when medical information had to be shared, it was mailed, emailed or faxed, resulting in uncertainty surrounding who was on the receiving end. Under the administration’s plan, records would be encrypted when shared, and patients and providers would be able to access the same information.
“Think of personal cell phones,” Bailer said. “You might have an iPhone, I might have an Android. Our apps don’t work together. That’s a very simple example, but it’s a way to really understand that these systems, although they’re all called electronic health records, one is not the same.”
Officials with the Department of Health and Human Services told NewsNation that more details on the initiative and its rollout will be released in the coming days.
