Anonymous Healthcare

[busigia@gov.on.ca]

  I've been watching the debate for some time now, and would like to suggest 
  that the strong feelings exhibited are indicative of a marketing opportunity.
  
  We've all seen how special interest groups have promoted "Anonymous Testing" 
  for venereal diseases, and certain other conditions. These people who 
  participated in these tests wanted to avoid being stigmatized by their 
  medical conditions. The concept here is no different for "healthy" people who 
  want to protect their privacy. 
  
  A recent article I read suggested that the average american has in his 
  make-up at least half a dozen mutant genes. This would mean by some 
  interpretations that all citizens could potentially have "pre-existing 
  tendencies" for genetically related health problems, potentially 
  disqualifying them from coverage. 
  
  If the medical community responded to provide health in a totally anonymous 
  model, there could be a market response. Who among us would choose to have 
  their medical histories on an EQUIFAX database, if we had another option. The 
  very existance of such a movement would do much more to spur the legislative 
  process towards privacy than anything thus far.
  
  To this end, perhaps it would be best to lobby the medical associations to 
  have them respect their oaths "Primum non nocere" (sic) First, do no harm. It 
  now seems that sharing your health data with others could affect you 
  economically, leading eventually to serious health risks.
  
  If I were a US doctor, I would perhaps explore the market potential of 
  franchising a premium quality clinic system, where the absolute privacy of 
  data is a basic tenet. 
  
  After all, shouldn't otherwise healthy citizens have the same rights and 
  protections as do the sexually promiscuous? Or does s1360 also remove the 
  operating rights of the all current anonymous testing centers?
  
  A.Busigin
  busigia@gov.on.ca
  ---------------
  Disclaimer: My opinions are my own, and do not necessarily reflect those of my 
  employer. The contents of this post are personal and do not represent either any 
  official, or unofficial communications of my employer. AIB