ADVANCING HEALTHCARE TECHNOLOGY THROUGH SECURE DATA SYSTEMS

Abstract

Digital technologies like electronic health records (EHRs), laboratory information systems (LIS), telehealth, and Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) increasingly feature in medical infrastructures to give healthcare professionals 24/7 access to patient information and facilitate rapid clinical decisions. Nevertheless, incomplete data silos, cybersecurity risks, and the absence of interoperability continue to limit performance. In this study, the authors explore potential reinforcement of patient care, efficiency of operations, security in healthcare, and resiliency to climate change through secure data systems. The suggested architecture will utilize encryption-by-default, zero-trust networking, and unified observability to enhance system reliability and security. These are benchmarking data encryption schemes (AES-256-GCM vs. ChaCha20-Poly1305), interoperability tests using FHIR/HL7 standards, and performance tests involving 10,000 cases of de-identified patients. Findings indicate 28% increased efficiency of the system, 35% lower security incidents, 22% less turnaround time on diagnostics, a 5-minute recovery time goal, and 99.97% system availability. These innovations show tremendous potential savings of both costs and energy, with an estimated $1.8-2.6 million annually in a 500-bed hospital, and how secure data systems can foster innovation and operational improvement in healthcare settings.