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Feds Plan For 35 Agencies To Collect, Share, Use Health Records of Americans
cold fjord writes: The Weekly Standard reports, "This week, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the release of the Federal Health IT Strategic Plan 2015-2020, which details the efforts of some 35 departments and agencies of the federal government and their roles in the plan to 'advance the collection, sharing, and use of electronic health information to improve health care, individual and community health, and research.' ... Now that HHS has publicly released the Federal Health IT Strategic Plan, the agency is seeking the input from the public before implementation. The plan is subject to two-month period of public comment before finalization. The comment period runs through February 6, 2015." Among the many agencies that will be sharing records besides Health and Human Services are: Department of Agriculture, Department of Defense, Department of Education, Department of Justice and Bureau of Prison, Department of Labor, Federal Communications Commission, Federal Trade Commission, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Office of Personnel Management, National Institute of Standards and Technology.
The NSA, CIA, and FBI.
" Among the many agencies that will be sharing records besides Health and Human Services are: Department of Agriculture, Department of Defense, Department of Education, Department of Justice and Bureau of Prison, Department of Labor, Federal Communications Commission, Federal Trade Commission, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Office of Personnel Management, National Institute of Standards and Technology."
In other words, almost everyone except YOU!
"Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
Although I knew that I would lose several civil rights, such as carrying a firearm, etc. I never believed that being put into the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Prisons would mean that my personal health history would be shared across thirty-five departments. I do not mind this, and it does not surprise me. However, this is just another example of big brother making decisions that are outside of my control.
See my story at The Market is not Random.
-Anthony
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artlu.net
I'm so glad NASA is concerned about my health but I'm worried they may find out that I'm an alien.
Move to another country where privacy means more than a door on a commode stall. That's about the extent of available options.
Scruting the inscrutable for over 50 years.
Well, you guys wanted federal health care.
Please don't act all surprised when this information is used for all sorts of other purposes.
-Styopa
35 more ways for your private information to leak or be hacked.
"If any question why we died, Tell them because our fathers lied."
Privacy and and security seem to be an afterthought, at best, in these plans and associated documents. Given the fact that attacks on health care data are already growing at an alarming rate (as predicted by many analysts) and that the health care industry is 10-20 years behind financial services when it comes to security and fraud prevention, this plan seems premature. At the very least, it's stated goals need to place privacy and security at the forefront, for until that gap is closed, any effort to expand the footprint of such sensitive information is, to say the least, misguided.
Actually, the problem is that we fall for the "It's for the starving children" political rhetoric and have VERY short memories. What happens in reality is what Jonathan Gruber (sp) said happened with the ACA, it's how you package it. It's all about the marketing and the sound bites and NOT about the truth. In short, lie, cheat and steal what you want and politics has turned into a PR propaganda campaign where the truth comes in second to the cause. "The ends justify the means."
However, all is not lost. Despite the problems of politics, the voters still do respond to such tactics eventually. Every Senator that got elected for their first time in 2008 and voted for the ACA just lost their re-election bid. Many others who voted for the ACA are also gone. Once the real effects of the ACA started to hit home and the propaganda proven untrue, the voters responded.
Short term, the tactic works, but in the long run, I still have faith in the voters... At least the slice of voters in the middle who actually decide things for us...
"File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
Before we cower in fear because ZOMG EVERYONE KNOWS EVERYTHING ABOUT ME....lets consider some things:
-there has been a push for a long time to move medical records to electronic format. we've been promised cost reductions as a result, as well has better/quicker care
-most health records still paper instead of electronic. the move to electronic records has largely been a failure; one reason is the resulting cost reductions that have been promised have been slow to materialize, if theyve materialized at all.
-those that are, are not in some large nationwide or accessible database
-under federal law personal health information is private and cannot be released to outside parties without consent
-under federal law any information that is released must be anonymized; ie, no SSN or names or other personally identifiable information
-google facebook and other data miners probably already know more about your current health needs than these records would tell someone, and they already associate it with you (ie, their data isnt anonymous)
So we're not talking about the FBI or NSA using this to find out you have irritable bowel syndrome.
(chances are they already know from other sources like Facebook anyway...*tin foil hat*).
and they likely wouldnt care anyway (life is not a hollywood movie).
No, its not readily apparent why the Dept of Ag might need health data.
But health researchers absolutely. And they get anonymized health data already.
But if we considered something like antibiotic resistance and hte theory that overapplication to livestock is a factor, I could see a scenario where health researchers partner with Dept of Ag to study the effects of antibiotic usage on livestock.
In fact the anonymous nature of this data is a big factor in the outrage over the House bills just a week or two ago that purported to "ban secret science" by requiring full disclouse over everything, and banning agencies from making decisions based on "secret science or data". This would have the efect of banning hte CDC or other health agencies from making decisions based on research using this anonymous data....data that is anonymous because of privacy laws. Effectively hamstringing the agencies compeltely.
All in all, teh cowering in fear and conspiracy reactions to this are just FUD.
The guy who said the election was rigged won the presidency with the second-most votes.
The ironic thing about Grubergate is that he's been proven right. The Republicans have used one recorded remark by a mid-level bureaucrat to override all fact-based arguments about the ACA for the past month. Yes, people really are stupid. Give them something to be angry about, and they'll vote against their own interests.
Have you read my blog lately?
It's rather presumptive of you, and every other Democrat, to pretend to know people's interests better than they do. It's part of the unmistakable arrogance that comes from the left, and was perfectly displayed by Gruber. You and your fellow leftists are cut from the same cloth as every other human, but you whip each other up with flattery on how kind, intelligent and compassionate you are for simply being on the left. Whether ruin or prosperity follows your policy actions isn't terribly important. You had the best intentions, you see, and the books can always be cooked after the fact to hide any negative news that doesn't fit the narrative.
Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms should be the name of a store, not a government agency.
Great, my data is protected by federal laws.
So what happens when there's an "unauthorized release" of your data by a federal agency?
Nothing!
That's why the laws on "unauthorized release" are bogus when you're talking about the government. No penalty = no enforcement = no care.
The TLA agencies care about your data when they need to ensure your cooperation with an ongoing investigation.