Requirements of Information Security in a Telemedicine Network: Review of IT Manager's Opinion

The requirements of information security in a telemedicine network can be categorized in four areas, namely; data storage and data accessibility, data transfer, human resources, and equipment for medical diagnosis. The purpose of this study was to determine the importance of each of the above areas from the perspective of information technology (IT) managers in teaching hospitals affiliated to Tehran and Shahid Beheshti Universities of Medical Sciences, and the experts in the field who worked in the Ministry of Health. This was a survey study conducted in 2013. The participants of the study included 41 information technology (IT) managers in teaching hospitals and seven experts who worked in the Ministry of Health. Data were collected using a five-point Likert scale questionnaire and were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The content and face validity of the questionnaire were confirmed by the experts in the field. The reliability of the questionnaire was calculated using Cronbach’s coefficient alpha (0/75=α). The results of the present study showed that among the requirements of information security in a telemedicine network, human resources were of high importance (mean = 87.50). The requirements related to the medical diagnostic equipment and those related to data storage and data accessibility were in the second (mean=87.04) and the third place (mean=85.97) of importance respectively. The requirements of information security in the area of data transfer were in the fourth place of importance. Considering the degree of importance that human resources gained compared to the importance of other requirements of information security in a telemedicine network, it seems that employing experts in the field of information security and training health care professionals in the application of telemedicine technology, may facilitate efficient deployment of this technology in the healthcare settings.