two from ACLU

[Peter Marshall <techdiff@ix.netcom.com>]

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05-05-99
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     ACLU Strongly Urges Congress to Give Medical Records
     Same Privacy Protections as Those Given Video Rentals

Tuesday, April 27, 1999

WASHINGTON -- The American Civil Liberties Union today strongly urged
Congress to give medical records the same kind of legal protections as
those awarded video rentals and cable subscriptions.

Testifying on medical records privacy before the Senate Committee on
Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, the ACLU said that advances in
technology have brought about a revolution in every aspect of health
care.

Particularly dramatic are the ways vast amounts of private medical
information are stored electronically and transmitted around the country
and globe with the click of a mouse.

"Much of this electronic activity benefits individual patients and
facilitates public health efforts as well," said Ronald Weich, an ACLU
Legislative Consultant. "But, like many technological advances,
society's increased reliance on computerized medical records presents
significant challenges to privacy."

In his testimony, Weich praised the Senate's efforts to address medical
records privacy and reiterated the ACLU's endorsement of medical records
privacy legislation introduced this year by Senators Patrick Leahy,
D-VT, and Edward Kennedy, D-MA.

A former Assistant District Attorney in New York City, Weich spoke
particularly about law enforcement access to medical records. In his
testimony, he said that only the Leahy-Kennedy bill would require that
law enforcement officers obtain a court order before gaining access to
medical records.

As a former prosecutor, Weich told the committee that law enforcement
could function quite effectively under the Leahy-Kennedy approach.

"Respect for the Fourth Amendment and the privacy values it embodies do
not hamper police and prosecutors," Weich said. "In my experience,
exercising police power while respecting privacy actually increases
citizen trust in law enforcement and encourages law abiding behavior."

             The ACLU's testimony can be found at:
             http://www.aclu.org/congress/lg042799a.html



* Medical Privacy at Risk as Agency
   Seeks Invasive Patient Information
   http://www.aclu.org/news/1999/n040799a.html