Perception of privacy issues and awareness in health-care knowledge management systems: empirical study in Indian health-care context

Abstract

Purpose: Focusing on the Indian context, with the increase in the amount of data and its analysis in health-care knowledge management (KM), the privacy concerns rise which results in loss of trust of an individual in e-health-care systems. Privacy issues in health care, specific to India, are caused by prevalent complacency, culture, politics, budget limitations, large population and infrastructures. Because of these factors, data security requires a backseat that allows easy access to confidential information. Furthermore, the prevalent culture affects health-care disclosure in India. In many cultures, disclosing sensitive personal health-care data is considered ill mannered. This leads to discrepancies in the recorded health-care data and a decrease in the level of treatment meted out. The results and statistics of treatments given do not match the records because of inaccurate data reporting. With the significant rise in the analysis and use of technology in health-care KM systems, it is important to understand the perception of KM in terms of its use and awareness about data sharing in the KM system. The purpose of the paper is to measure the perception of privacy issues in the context of Indian healthcare management systems. Design/methodology/approach: To measure the perception of the use of the KM system, a set of 20 questions was circulated with a sample size of 337 which includes health-care researchers, doctors, practitioners and patients. The questions focused upon the use, share the sensitive health data in the KM platform. All the demographic information such as age, sex, religion, occupation is recorded. The privacy of the individual is maintained while circulating the questionnaire. The usage of health KM system and its privacy is measured through means and t-test. Findings: The results of the t-test were found positive. This research study finds that the privacy factor is important among the Indians to share the information with the KM repository. It is also found that medical practitioners or data custodians are not much serious about sensitive data is being stored for analysis. From the statistical perception of usage of KM and its privacy, new architecture and privacy guidelines were suggested which can be considered in future research. Research limitations/implications: From the literature review, the questionnaire has developed which can help policymakers and hospital administrators collect information about KM processes in health-care organizations, and this can result in higher performance of health organizations. The privacy factor can also be included in typical health KM architecture ensure that while knowledge acquisition process, privacy of individual or organization can be maintained. Social implications: KM enhances the value of corporations and business industries through knowledge production, distribution and provides reliable access to the knowledge resources. KM in health care can comprise a confluence of formal methodologies and techniques to facilitate the creation, identification, acquisition, development, preservation, dissemination and finally the utilization of the various facets of a health-care enterprise’s knowledge assets. According to IBM Global executive report in the year 2012, the entire health-care system has changed from diseases-centric to patient-centric. India is emerging in terms of revenue and employment in the health-care field. The advances of information and communication technology help the health-care sector streamline for data structure and access and health analytics. Originality/value: In India, the KM is frequently used in health-care industries majorly by health-care practitioners and professionals. As health-care data and knowledge are considered to be sensitive, the privacy of an individual while using the data cannot be compromised. The proposed empirical work will provide a solution in determining the main barriers of implementing privacy policies that need to be solved first and to ensure effective implementation of KM in the health care of India.