In her article "Check Your Freedom at the Door", Sally McGrane writes:
"Your Health Records Are Imperiled
The ACLU is backing legislation introduced to the House and the Senate to guarantee that your medical records can't be accessed electronically. The ACLU says that, as of now, the U.S. has no coherent, consistent medical privacy policy, and that a nationwide law is necessitated by the advent of electronic records and national insurance companies. Among the breaches of privacy that the ACLU reports is a Maryland banker who accessed medical records of people diagnosed with cancer before deciding whether or not to give them loans. Also, a University of Illinois survey found that 35 percent of Fortune 500 companies check medical records before they hire or promote."
I would suggest to Sally and her Editors that a little fact-checking is in order before publishing this scaremongering stuff, and painting a much bleaker, darker picture of the future than actually exists. Just because the ACLU says it's so, doesn't mean it is.
HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability Act, passed in (I believe 1996) and slated to go into effect later this year once the final regs are approved, will *majorly* impact how your medical records are stored, accessed, and maintained.
Expected to cost the Health Care industry *many* times what it spent on Y2K, HIPAA mandates sweeping physical and electronic security measures, in addition to process changes, etc., to ensure your privacy, and the protection and accuracy of your medical record.
Sites that I'm not in any way affiliated with. Working in the health care industry in information technology these days, it's something I'm very aware of, as are most doing MIS/IT in the health care world. CNET and Ms. McGrane would have done well to maybe ask at least *one* knowledgable person before publishing this "report."
Slashdot Mirror
In her article "Check Your Freedom at the Door", Sally McGrane writes:
"Your Health Records Are Imperiled
I would suggest to Sally and her Editors that a little fact-checking is in order before publishing this scaremongering stuff, and painting a much bleaker, darker picture of the future than actually exists. Just because the ACLU says it's so, doesn't mean it is.
HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability Act, passed in (I believe 1996) and slated to go into effect later this year once the final regs are approved, will *majorly* impact how your medical records are stored, accessed, and maintained.
Expected to cost the Health Care industry *many* times what it spent on Y2K, HIPAA mandates sweeping physical and electronic security measures, in addition to process changes, etc., to ensure your privacy, and the protection and accuracy of your medical record.
For further information, I refer you to:
hipaadvisory.com
hipaalert.com
Sites that I'm not in any way affiliated with. Working in the health care industry in information technology these days, it's something I'm very aware of, as are most doing MIS/IT in the health care world. CNET and Ms. McGrane would have done well to maybe ask at least *one* knowledgable person before publishing this "report."