Healthcare teams need to communicate and coordinate work quickly, often using information that is highly sensitive. Security therefore has to be considered throughout the design, development and operation of the systems they rely on.
At Alertive, security by design means identifying and managing risk from the earliest stages of development, rather than treating security as a final check before a product or feature is released.
Alertive CEO Kevin Douglas sat down with Information Security and Infrastructure Manager Dave Juby and Director of Technology and Innovation Leon Revill to discuss how this approach shapes the platform and the way the organisation works.
Trust is fundamental when healthcare organisations adopt new technology.
“A big part of it ultimately comes down to trust,” explains Leon. “People who use our solution and those who work with us want to know that we’re a trustworthy organisation. If we’ve got important data flowing through our system, like patient information, people want to know they can trust us with that data.”
Healthcare communication can include patient details, clinical information and operational context. As Alertive connects people, workflows and information across teams, those using the platform need confidence that data is handled responsibly and that appropriate controls are in place.
“Anybody’s personal data is really important – if I send you a personal message that’s just about nothing particularly important, that’s still a personal thing that’s important to protect,” Leon continues. “But when it’s a message about a patient it can contain details about their health, their addresses and other very important personal information.”
Security supports more than regulatory compliance. It gives healthcare staff confidence that they can communicate and coordinate work through an approved platform designed for the environment in which they operate.
Security by design begins before development work starts.
“As part of our ISO 27001 standard, we have secure software development life cycles and policies in place,” says Dave. “Before we even start implementing, we run tabletop exercises to evaluate how data will be transferred and stored.”
Considering data flows, access and potential risks early helps the team make informed design decisions before a new feature reaches production.
This approach becomes increasingly important as healthcare technology connects with EPRs and other hospital systems. Integrations can bring relevant clinical and operational information into the workflows where decisions happen, but each connection must be designed and managed carefully.
Security needs to extend across the full interaction, including how users are authenticated, how information is accessed, how data moves between systems and how activity can be reviewed.
Policies and technical controls are essential, but they are only part of a secure organisation.
“It’s not just about ticking boxes,” says Leon. “We’ve built a culture where security and compliance are at the forefront of everyone’s mind, whether they’re directly involved in product development or not.”
Security is therefore a shared responsibility across Alertive. It influences how products are designed, how customers are supported and how teams make day-to-day decisions.
This culture also helps the organisation respond as risks and technology evolve. Security cannot be treated as a one-off project because new vulnerabilities, threats and regulatory expectations continue to emerge.
“We stay up to date by using threat intelligence feeds, NHS blogs, and third-party tools like Snyk, which alert us to vulnerabilities in real-time,” explains Dave.
Ongoing monitoring and threat intelligence help the team identify emerging risks and respond appropriately. Regular review also ensures that established controls continue to work as the platform develops and new capabilities are introduced.
Alertive brings together real-time communication, coordinated workflows, data and integrations to help healthcare teams work as one. Security and compliance run through each of these areas, supporting the safe movement of information between people, roles, services and systems.
Ultimately, security by design is about maintaining trust. By considering risk from the earliest stages of development and making security part of everyday culture, Alertive helps healthcare organisations use digital communication and workflow technology with confidence.
For healthcare technology providers, security cannot sit alongside product development as a separate activity. It needs to shape every decision from the ground up.
