Data security a primary challenge for healthcare industry

Data security issues are the primary challenge in bolstering the digitalization in China's healthcare industry, while high-value medical data has become one of the main targets of cyberattacks, according to a report from cybersecurity company Qi-Anxin Technology Group.

The healthcare sector is experiencing a data security crisis worldwide, and hackers might get access to some important data along with the rapid development and application of big data in the public health field, said Qi Xiangdong, chairman of Qi-Anxin. 

Data from Qi-Anxin showed that last year, data security-related incidents that are accepted by the company accounted for nearly 50 percent of the total incidents under the emergency response mechanism in the healthcare industry.

Noting the significance of safeguarding medical data security, the company has launched a plan to carry out free data safety tests and risk assessments for more than 100 large hospitals and medical institutions nationwide.

Experts said digital technologies, including cloud computing, big data and artificial intelligence are finding wide applications in the healthcare industry, and spearheading the digital and intelligent transformation of the industry.

Meanwhile, as the leakage of personal medical information and privacy has appeared, more efforts are needed to step up checks related to data compliance and improving the quality of healthcare services.

fanfeifei@chinadaily.com.cn