Comparing the security risks of paper-based and computerized patient record systems

How should hospital administrators compare the security risks of paper-based and computerized patient record systems? There is a general tendency to assume that because computer networks potentially provide broad access to hospital archives, computerized patient records are less secure than paper records and increase the risk of breaches of patient confidentiality. This assumption is ill-founded on two grounds. Reasons exist to say that the computerized patient record provides better access to patient information while enhancing overall information system security. A range of options with different trade-offs between access and security exist in both paper-based and computerized records management systems. The relative accessibility and security of any particular patient record management system depends, therefore, on administrative choice, not simply on the intrinsic features of paper or computerized information management systems.