Securing Mobile Data Computing in Healthcare

Access to mobile data and messages is essential in healthcare environment as patients and healthcare providers are mobile. This is inline with the need of ubiquitous computing in everyday life. Mobile and wireless devices can assist in ensuring patient’s safety by providing easy availability of the data at the point of care. Portability and accessibility of these devices enhances use of them in healthcare environment. However, data integrity and confidentiality of information in them need to be ensured to provide safe, effective and efficient healthcare. Mobile healthcare involves conducting healthcare related activities through using mobile devices such as a smart phone, Personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless enabled computer, iPod and so on. Mobile computing is suitable for healthcare as healthcare providers are mobile. These would be suitable for conducting patient’s healthcare activities in emergencies, ward rounds, homecare, chronic disease management, conducting clinical trials, and so on. There are various projects using mobile devices to enhance patient’s care. With the advancement of medical informatics, telemedicine and information technology, mobile data devices play an enormous role in healthcare system. In this chapter, we outline the need of mobile devices in healthcare, usage of these devices, underlying technology and applications, importance of security of these devices, securing mobile data communication in healthcare through different security models and case examples of applications that we have developed, in particular (1) iPathology tool on iPod, (2) securing healthcare information using Pocket PC 2003, and (3) securing information on handheld devices. There were several incidents in the past due to the insecurity of mobile devices that can leak information to anyone who does not have access to the information. In this chapter, we will illustrate several techniques that we have developed to protect these malicious activities and how these are applicable for securing mobile data computing in healthcare.