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Medical Privacy Laws Highly Ineffectual

Rick Zeman writes "According to the Washington Post, since Americans gained statutory privacy for their medical records backed by the US Federal Government (via HIPAA), the Bush administration has received thousands of complaints alleging violations but has not imposed a single civil fine and has prosecuted just two criminal cases saying that they were pursuing 'voluntary compliance.'" From the article: "'It's like when you're driving a car,' said consultant Gary Christoph of Teradata Government Systems of Dayton, Ohio. 'If you are speeding down the highway and no one is watching, you're much more likely to speed. The problem with voluntary compliance is, it doesn't seem to be motivating people to comply.'"

3 of 133 comments (clear)

  1. dinkleberry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    FP, you dinkleberries!

  2. Speeding by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    That's strange, because I would probably say I am going to probably have lower top speeds when I am alone on the road as opposed to having some cars around me. Out here in New York, if the highway is open, I'll set my cruise control to about 5-7 miles over the limit. I feel like I will definitely be pulled over if a cop sees me speeding alone. However, if there are cars around, I'll speed through at 10-20 over the limit (sometimes more), because everybody else around me is going that speed.

    How that applies to the analogy, I have no idea.

  3. Medieval privacy by Yvanhoe · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    I swear I read at first the news as 'Medieval Privacy Laws...' damn associative memory

    --
    The Wise adapts himself to the world. The Fool adapts the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the Fool.