Information Governance and Assurance

Information is a vital asset, both in terms of the clinical management of individual patients and the efficient organisation of services and resources. In a world in which information is increasingly seen as a top-level asset, the safeguarding and management of information is of concern to everyone. Information governance is the set of multi-disciplinary structures, policies, procedures, processes and controls implemented to manage information at an enterprise level, supporting an organisation's immediate and future regulatory, legal, risk, environmental and operational requirements. Information governance should determine the balance point between two potentially divergent organisational goals: extracting value from information and reducing the potential risk of information. It provides a framework to ensure that personal information is dealt with legally, securely, efficiently and effectively, in order to deliver the best possible care. Information assurance (IA) is the practice of protecting against and managing risk related to the use, storage and transmission of data and information systems. Information assurance processes typically ensure the following functions for data and associated information systems: Availability ensures information is ready for use by those that are allowed to access it and at a required level of performance. The book discusses the legal, organisational and ethical aspects of information governance and information security and their relevance to all aspects of information work. The book will equip practitioners and students alike to implement good information governance practice in realworld situations. The book will be of valuable resource for LIS students taking information management and information governance courses, information professionals with an advisory or gatekeeping role in information governance within an organisation.