Challenges and opportunities on data protection and privacy in healthcare

The envisage is the next big thing globally is information. It is the wellspring of literally everything and thus the saying ‘’INFORMATION IS POWER’’ Any continent, country, or organization that is considered a superpower is arguably among the best if not the best in handling information. Healthcare is no exclusion on information demands. The best hospitals in the world have practices and a culture of nurturing data/information. Healthcare data is the impetus to improve patient outcomes, predict outbreaks of epidemics, gain valuable insights, avoid preventable diseases, reduce the cost of healthcare delivery and improve the quality of life in general. In Kenya and many developing countries majority of families are a stone’s throw away from poverty if a family member develops. People who do not have access to healthcare are stuck in a vicious circle of poverty and poor health, which can also lead to social instability and migration consequently, health is a prerequisite to prosperity. No country is considered developed without a good health system and the antithetic applies to developing countries. Health management problems are increasing with the growing population, especially with the increasingly larger aging population. Sometimes no response from the hospital for emergencies creates social issues. Similarly, the medical staff in rural areas do not have sufficient resources for treatment and do not have the expertise to diagnose complex diseases. Due to these reasons, people in rural areas focus on big hospitals for proper medical attention, increasing the load on hospitals. The late detection of diseases and severe health problems of older people also complicates the diagnosis process. Therefore, there is a need to provide better medical facilities using an optimized healthcare system that includes body sensors and medical devices to remotely monitor and diagnose medical problems. A country may or may not have a law for user data protection, but the healthcare system should follow the laws of the country to which the user belongs.