Encryption Alone Is Not Enough When It Comes to Patient Data
In healthcare, data is more than just information. It is deeply personal, highly sensitive, and, if mishandled, potentially devastating to both patients and the professionals entrusted with its care.
For IT teams managing health data, particularly large-scale datasets like PREMs (Patient-Reported Experience Measures) and PROMs (Patient-Reported Outcome Measures), it is easy to assume that encryption is the silver bullet. Encrypt it, lock it away, and the job is done. Right?
Not quite.
While encryption is a crucial line of defence, relying on it alone is a dangerous oversimplification—especially when you are handling mass outpatient surveys and compulsory data collections, where sheer volume magnifies every risk. Beneath the surface, there are vulnerabilities that encryption simply cannot address.
The False Comfort of Encryption
Encryption is excellent at protecting data in transit and at rest. It transforms sensitive information into unreadable code for anyone without the decryption key. So far, so good.
But here is the uncomfortable truth: most healthcare data breaches happen after the data has been decrypted—by people who were supposed to have access or by systems integrated into your network.
Think about it:
Who holds the keys to decrypt your patient records?
How are those keys managed, and who audits their use?
What happens when a third-party vendor, cloud service, or analytics tool needs access to this data?
Encryption does not stop internal misuse, accidental sharing, or third-party risks. And in healthcare, these risks are not hypothetical - they are daily realities.
The Stakes Are Higher Than Ever: The Consequences of a Leak
Let’s be clear: patient data is some of the most tightly regulated and sensitive data you will ever handle. When your datasets include PREMs and PROMs, you are not just talking about contact details - you are dealing with patient experiences, physical and mental health outcomes, and sometimes sensitive socioeconomic indicators.
Now add the fact that many healthcare providers are legally obliged to run mass outpatient surveys, in Australia, this is a must. We are talking about thousands, hundreds of thousands, of data points, flowing into your systems at regular intervals. Each one represents a human being, trusting you to protect their story.
The consequences of failing to secure that trust are severe:
Regulatory fines that can reach eye-watering levels under laws like GDPR, UK GDPR, and Australia’s Privacy Act.
Class action lawsuits from patients whose data was compromised.
Catastrophic reputational damage to your organisation.
And, let’s not ignore this one: career-damaging scrutiny for the data teams responsible.
Yes, if your name is on the data handling protocols and a breach occurs, your professional reputation is on the line. A single misstep - a rogue spreadsheet shared via email, a misconfigured third-party service - can follow you forever.
What Regulators Expect (Hint: It’s More Than Encryption)
Authorities worldwide are sending a clear message: encryption is the baseline, not the full strategy.
Healthcare data handlers are increasingly expected to demonstrate:
Full audit trails – Who accessed what, when, and why. Logs must be tamper-proof and regularly reviewed.
Data sovereignty compliance – Ensuring patient data stays within authorised jurisdictions, especially critical for cloud services.
Granular access controls – Limiting data access strictly to those who need it, and only for as long as necessary.
Third-party risk management – Vetting vendors thoroughly, and demanding contractual assurances about data handling and breach notification.
In short: regulators are looking for a culture of proactive data stewardship, not a passive reliance on technical tools.
Practical Steps for IT Teams to Tighten Healthcare Data Security
If you are managing large volumes of sensitive health data, especially from mandated surveys like PREMs and PROMs, here’s what you should be focusing on right now:
Map Your Data Flow
Understand exactly where patient data originates, where it is stored, how it moves, and who touches it along the way. Blind spots breed risk.Enforce Least Privilege Access
Limit access to patient data to the minimum number of people required to do the job. Regularly review permissions and remove unnecessary access rights.Regular Privacy Impact Assessments (PIAs)
Evaluate the privacy risks of new projects or data uses before they go live. PREMs and PROMs collections often scale quickly—PIAs keep pace with expansion.Audit Third-Party Providers Relentlessly
Never assume cloud vendors or analytics partners are fully compliant. Ask hard questions and demand transparency.Implement Data Loss Prevention (DLP) Measures
Use DLP tools to monitor for risky behaviour like unsanctioned file sharing or data downloads.Automate Audit Trails
Manual logs are not enough. Automate your tracking of access and changes to sensitive data, and ensure reports are reviewed regularly.
Proactivity Beats Regret
In healthcare, protecting patient data is more than a compliance issue, it is a professional responsibility. The tools are important, yes, but so is the mindset. Your role is to think ahead of the risks, not react to them after the fact. That would not end well for you.
Encryption is essential, but it is not a get-out-of-jail-free card. For healthcare IT and data teams, true data protection comes from layered defences, rigorous processes, and a healthy dose of professional paranoia.
Because when it comes to sensitive patient data, you do not get second chances.
