Information Governance Policy for Healthcare Assistant (HCA)
This assessment is the group component of the Information Governance and Cyber Security module and requires a 2,500-word report for the fictional Healthcare Assistant (HCA) organisation. HCA is presented as a large private hospital group operating across the UK, with specialist healthcare services, intensive care facilities and a wide network of GPs, departments, partner hospitals, medical centres and third parties. The organisation processes highly sensitive information including patient personal information, admission details, health records, staff information and other organisational data. These data are shared across different sites and partners and are also used for analytical purposes, treatment planning and marketing activities. The assessment requires students to develop an Information Governance Policy for HCA and provide an accompanying report that justifies the policy contents, selected framework, risk assessment methodology and implementation strategy. The objective is to establish a robust information governance structure capable of protecting HCA's information assets while supporting legal, regulatory and contractual compliance. The first component of the report focuses on the introduction, purpose and scope of the Information Security Policy. Students should establish the organisational context, explain why information governance is important to HCA and define the people, processes, technologies and information assets covered by the policy. Particular attention should be given to the confidentiality, integrity and availability of sensitive healthcare and organisational information. The second component focuses on the identification and allocation of roles and responsibilities. The report should establish appropriate accountability for information governance and information security and consider responsibilities relating to legal, regulatory and contractual obligations. Relevant roles may include senior management, information security leadership, data protection personnel, information asset owners, information asset administrators, employees, contractors and third parties. The third component requires the development of an Information Governance Policy Framework and recommendations for a minimum of eight controls to establish an effective Information Security Management System. The assessment brief identifies ISO/IEC 27001:2022 as an appropriate framework within the developed policy and requires the framework and controls to be justified in relation to HCA's organisational context and security requirements. The fourth component focuses on implementation and monitoring. Students should develop an implementation plan explaining how the information governance policy and security controls can be introduced and maintained. Appropriate monitoring mechanisms should be considered to identify security threats, mitigate vulnerabilities, maintain accountability and support continuous improvement. Overall, the assessment requires a practical and critically justified approach to information governance within a healthcare environment. The report should demonstrate how an effective information governance policy can protect sensitive patient information, support regulatory compliance, establish accountability and strengthen HCA's ability to manage evolving cyber security threats.
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