Slashdot Mirror
Anger Over EU Medical Data-Sharing
ukhackster writes "A row is brewing in Europe over plans to make medical records available across the EU. The scheme calls for interoperability between health systems in 22 different countries. Experts are predicting that security problems could expose confidential patient records, with one calling the affair 'a colossal waste of money and energy.' This 'e-Health' initiative reflects similar projects in the United States, and raises many of the same issues discussed here. The article makes it clear that many important issues, such as security, privacy, and the rights of patients, are still up in the air as the project moves forward. Could this be another huge IT project disaster on the horizon?"
Another advantage: a common standard will eliminate the need to fill out medical history every time you go to the doctor (or have the doctor get it himself). Besides being a huge time saver, it will reduce the chances of human error.
A friend of mine, a doctor, has claimed a standardized health history system that is easily retrievable would save him about 20-50% of the time he spends on a typical patient (depending on the type of patient). This would increase efficiency and reduce costs in the already over-priced health field.
Security is essential but, to the typical person, the benefits far out-way the off-chance that:
A. someone cares about your medical history
B. has some way of accessing it
C. is willing to risk the likely punishment for doing so
Besides, social engineering (eg. calling a person's doctor and asking for medical history) is probably possible as it is.