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In
this issue:
The
Director's Report: Library Renovation
Highwire: An e-journal platform that keeps getting better
Finding
Meeting and Conference Paper Abstracts
Security
for your PDA
Pubmed
Update
Electronic
Journals FAQ
Web
Watcher:
Grants or Funding Sources
Depression
and Anxiety: The Johns Hopkins White Papers
New
Circulating Laptops
New
Public Computers
Coming Soon!
e-Medicine:
A New Database
Longer
Sunday Hours
Create Change: An advocacy brochure
for Open Access
Highlights from the Library
Open House, Fall 2003
Update
Archives
Editor:
Robert M. Joven, MLS Information & Education Services Ext. 8493 E-mail
- joven@uchc.edu
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Securing
info on your PDA
by Evelyn
Morgen, MLS
Associate Director
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Because
PDAs are so small, there’s a risk they could be lost or misplaced,
and someone else might try to access your personal data. If you have patient
specific data on your PDA, this could even be a HIPAA compliance issue
for you. So how can you secure your info? Here are some possibilities:
- Assign a password
to your PDA. No one could open the PDA without first entering a password.
On the Palm system, security is one of the options under “preferences.”
Open it and you’ll see several options for assigning passwords,
locking your handheld or hiding private records. On the Pocket PC
system, you’ll find these options under “settings.”
Click on password, and assign either a simple or complex password,
and choose whether to have the device prompt you for your password
after a certain time.
- Purchase a software
program that will protect your data. The system recommended at UCHC
is called PDA Defense. It has both Palm and PocketPC versions that
provide a wide range of security options from assigning passwords
to encrypting data. Their brochure states “If security software
detracts from the usability of a PDA, it is a poor solution. . . .
[our system uses] an extremely user-transparent interface.”
The cost is currently $29.95. You can learn more about it on their
website: http://www.pdadefense.com/
- Refer to the
UCHC policy on protecting information on any personal computing device
including PDAs and laptops: http://itweb.uchc.edu/MainIT/PCDPolicy.htm
You’ll find what level of security you need for the type of
data on your handheld.
-
Read
some articles on PDA security. Here’s a short list from PubMed:
Pancoast PE, Patrick TB, Mitchell JA.
Physician PDA use and the HIPAA Privacy Rule.
J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2003 Nov-Dec;10(6):611-2.
PMID: 14631929
Goodman
T.
Lack of built-in security shouldn't inhibit PDA use.
Health Manag Technol. 2003 Nov;24(11):58, 57. No abstract available.
PMID: 14608717
Chen
ES, Mendonca EA, McKnight LK, Stetson PD, Lei J, Cimino JJ.
PalmCIS: A Wireless Handheld Application for Satisfying Clinician
Information Needs.
J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2004 Jan-Feb;11(1):19-28. Epub 2003 Oct 05.
PMID: 14527976
Fowler DL, Hogle NJ, Martini F, Roh MS.
The use of a personal digital assistant for wireless entry of data
into a database via the Internet.
Surg Endosc. 2002 Jan;16(1):221-3. Epub 2001 Nov 12.
PMID: 11961662
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