Dicom Systems' Introduction of New Technology DICOM Guard Ensures the Complete Security of Patient Data

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Dicom Systems (http://www.dcmsys.com/) recently introduced its new product, DICOM Guard. The product is part of the company's DICOM and HL7 Interface Engine Suite. It uses the company's proprietary data tagging technology, which allows healthcare enterprises to have full control over security of their patient data.

HIPPA privacy rule recognizes the need for healthcare organizations to share patient data and allows for the release of de-identified data for certain purposes. In order to protect the privacy interests of consumers, personal identifiers, such as name and social security number, are removed from databases containing sensitive information. De-identified patient data is the most valuable tool for the improvement of care and researchers have been using it to develop modern medicine and healthcare practices for decades.

But even thought the data is de-identified, organizations still need to have some safeguards to place around it, especially if the images and patient data are stored off-site. The DICOM tagging technology from Dicom Systems de-identifies the data by removing all real patient identifiers, so that only the owners of the original data and/or legally empowered entities can re-identify the patient. In the event that patient data becomes publically available, there is no risk that the individual will be identified.

When a medical facility retrieves the data from Dicom Systems' vendor-neutral archive, the DCMSYS router quickly re-identifies the data, using DICOM Supplement 142 and Dicom Systems' patent-pending tagging technology. No real patient data is stored on any of the devices – the de-identification and re-identification happen on the fly, using a secure key unique to each client to encrypt and decrypt the data.

*The product is currently in Beta testing and will be released for general availability later this year.

About Dicom Systems, Inc.

Dicom Systems also offers a 100% secure web-based DICOM and HL7 routing, transformation, and interface engine appliance for hospitals, clinics and diagnostic imaging centers. Trusted by top healthcare facilities, and providing the most effective integrated workflow in digital imaging, Dicom Systems ensures that doctors, practitioners and diagnosticians have the most reliable and most immediate access to patient data from across their Healthcare Enterprises.
Press Inquiries: Tanya Wehr, Dicom Systems, Inc., 415.684.8790, [email protected]

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SOURCE Dicom Systems, Inc.