Sweden's e-health initiative launches

The Swedish government has launched its e-health initiative, as described on the e-Health Europe site. The national strategy is described in this 36-page report [pdf].

With respect to security, the report says:

Increased use of e-Health must be combined with effective security measures designed to ensure that highly sensitive confidential information relating to individual patients or users is securely handled by all involved in care or service delivery. (p. 2)

[…]

Nationally based services of this kind will require new or amended legislation (Action Area 1). They are also contingent on the adoption of security solutions capable of preventing unauthorised access and contributing to the detection of unauthorised intrusion (Action Area 3). (p. 20)

Part of their security approach seems to involve using national electronic ID cards to facilitate secure identification when e-services are used in the health care and social services and other sectors of society:

A national security solution involving the use of electronic ID cards has been under development for some years. Known as SITHS, which in Swedish stands for
secure e-Health, the scheme is based on European security work in this area. Both the HSA directory and SITHS are managed by Carelink. Work is now entering a new phase involving the introduction into a number of operational support systems of e-identification for health and elderly care professionals. Over the next few years, two county councils will introduce SITHS for all personnel concurrently with consolidation work on their ICT structure. Pilot projects are under way in several county councils, in a couple of cases with the active collaboration of their municipal councils.

On 1 October 2005, the Swedish National Police Board introduced a new national ID card. Embedded in the card is an electronic circuit which in the future will be able to carry electronic information – so-called electronic ID services (e-ID) – and thus identify the bearer electronically. The aim is to achieve a national, cross-sectoral e-ID solution capable of ensuring secure electronic identification when e-services are used. This solution can significantly affect citizens’ and patients’ communication with the health care services.