Should the government overhaul data controls?
My reply can only be a big 'yes'. With all the encryption technology available, or such things as levels of authority, the current 'discoveries' should not have happened in the first place ('7 more cases of hospital data going missing', May 6).
I remember even in the late 1980s when I was doing volunteer work at one of the subsidised hospitals in Hong Kong, they were setting up procedures for the use of a centralised database system. I took part in one of their unofficial discussions where procedures similar to those used in banks were being raised. Sadly, that very hospital is one of those revealed to have lost some data. It is simple to see what happened. Those who knew what should be done didn't know how to make it happen.
Those who had the know-how, did not recognise the importance of doing it. There is a very simple yet effective way of protecting data as confidential as patients' records and that is to follow the practice of banks and centralise data with several layers of back-ups. Access to different information requires different log-in methods, which may include swiping of staff cards, use of different log-ins and passwords.
Angela Hall, North Point
I refer to the report ('7 more cases of hospital data going missing', May 6).