Standards for confidentiality, privacy, access, and data security.

The American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), an accredited standards development organization with a focus on health care informatics, has recently produced a standards document on the principles of confidentiality, privacy, access, and data security. The ASTM subcommittee responsible for this work is ASTM 31.17. The article discusses the link between voluntary health informatics standards and issues such as confidentiality and data security in computerized health information systems.