Health Professionals’ Ethical, Security, and Patient Safety Concerns Using Digital Health Technologies: A Mixed Method Research Study

Abstract

Background: Digital Health Technologies (DHTs) offer numerous health benefits but raise ethical and security concerns about patient health data among health professionals due to potential security breaches. This study explores the ethical, patient safety, and security issues concerning healthcare professionals using DHTs in hospitals in Ghana. Methods: The study used a mixed method design, including a descriptive survey and in-depth interviews with health professionals in 3 tertiary hospitals, between July and September 2022, with thematic content analysis using QSR NVivo 12 software. The descriptive survey was analyzed using Stata 15 to produce percentages, means, and standard deviations. Results: A total of 369 health professionals participated in the study. Disclosure of health data on DHTs without consent from patients 299 (81.03%) was the most frequently mentioned concern. The most often raised concern was the disclosure of the patient. Overall, 298(80.76%) health professionals worried about safety issues relating to the use of the DHTs. On occasion, staff members neglect to log out of the system, which compromises all the security measures in place. Other factors such as system unavailable due to unplanned shutdown affected patient safety. Conclusion: Health professionals are concerned about patient information confidentiality and security. They believe staff access to patient information should be on a “need-to-know basis,” and safety policies be periodically updated to prevent human behavior from compromising security measures.