Pres. on new med-privacy regs.

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

>                                Source:        U.S. Newswire
>                                Date:          10/29/1999 11:44

>             Transcript of Clinton Remarks on Health Care 
              Privacy
> -----------------------------------------------------------------
> Story Filed: Friday, October 29, 1999 11:44 AM EST
> 
> WASHINGTON, Oct. 29 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Following is a transcript of remarks
> today by President Clinton on medical privacy:
> 

> 
> SECRETARY SHALALA: Mr. President, I am pleased to welcome everyone here
> today. We have worked very hard to do what common sense and common decency
> says should have been done a long time ago. That is, to come up with
> reasonable rules for protecting the privacy of our health care records.
> 
> The President understands that the citizens of this country deserve health
> care that is real, that is affordable, that offers choices and that is there
> when we need it and he understands that this issue is important to every
> American. That's why today's announcement builds on what he has already done
> to protect the health of American families. He has fought for the Patients'
> Bill of Rights, for Medicare reform, for children's health insurance, for a
> prescription drug benefit, to expand biomedical research and, today, his
> announcement on health care privacy is historic.
> 
> I am very proud to introduce the President. Thank you, Mr. President.
> 
> THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, Secretary Shalala. I would like to thank you for
> all the work that you and so many people in your department have done on
> this issue. I thank the representatives of the various groups who are here
> with me today for their concern for, and commitment to, the issue of medical
> records privacy.
> 
> These health care and consumer advocates support what we are trying to do to
> protect the sanctity of medical records. I believe the American people will
> support us as well.
> 
> Every American has a right to know that his or her medical records are
> protected at all times from falling into the wrong hands. And, yet, more and
> more of our medical records are stored electronically and as they have been
> stored electronically the threats to our privacy have substantially
> increased. So has the sense of vulnerability that so many millions of
> Americans feel.
> 
> To be sure, storing and transmitting medical records electronically is a
> remarkable application of information technology. Electronic records are not
> only cost effective; they can save lives by helping doctors to make quicker
> and better-informed decisions, by helping to prevent dangerous drug
> interactions, by giving patients in rural areas the benefit of specialist
> care hundreds of miles away. So, on balance, this has been a blessing.
> 
> But as Secretary Shalala just said, our electronic medical records are not
> protected under federal law. The American people are concerned and
> rightfully so. Two-thirds of adults say they don't trust that their medical
> records will be kept safe. They have good reason. Today, with the click of a
> mouse, personal health information can easily and now legally be passed
> around without patients' consent to people who aren't doctors for reasons
> that have nothing to do with health care.
> 
> A recent survey showed that more than a third of all Fortune 500 companies
> check medical records before they hire or promote. One large employer in
> Pennsylvania had no trouble obtaining detailed information on the
> prescription drugs taken by its workers, easily discovering that one
> employee was HIV positive. This is wrong. Americans should never have to
> worry that their employers are looking at the medications they take or the
> ailments they've had.
> 
> In 1999 Americans should never have to worry about nightmare scenarios
> depicted in George Orwell's 1984. I am determined to put an end to such
> violations of privacy. That's why I'm honoring the pledge I made in the
> State of Union Address and using the full authority of this office to create
> the first comprehensive national standards for protection of medical
> records.
> 
> The new standards I propose would apply to all electronic medical records
> and to all health plans. They would greatly limit the release of private
> health information without consent. They would require health plans to
> inform patients about how medical information is used, and to whom it is
> disclosed. They would give patients the right to see their own health files
> and to request corrections. They would require health plans and providers to
> strengthen internal safeguards. They would create new criminal and civil
> penalties for improper use or disclosure of the information.
> 
> These standards represent an unprecedented step toward putting Americans
> back in control of their own medical records. These standards were developed
> by Secretary Shalala and the Department of Health and Human Services. Over
> the next 60 days the Secretary and her department will take comment from the
> public before we finalize the standards.
> 
> Again, on behalf of all the families in this country, I thank you Madam
> Secretary for this work.
> 
> Now let me say something that I think is now well known. I am taking this
> action today because Congress has failed to act, and because a few years ago
> Congress explicitly gave me the authority to step in if they were unable to
> deal with this issue. I believe Congress should act. Members of Congress
> gave themselves three years to pass meaningful privacy protections, and then
> gave us the authority to act if they didn't. Two months ago their deadline
> expired. After three full years there wasn't a bill passed in either
> chamber.
> 
> Even as we put forward our plan today, I think it is important to point out
> there are still protections, some of them, we can give our families only if
> there is an act of Congress passed. For example, only through legislation
> can we cover all paper records and all employers.
> 
> So today again I ask Congressional leaders, please help protect America's
> families from new abuses of their privacy. You owe the American people a
> comprehensive medical privacy law. As we have found out in working through
> this order, the issues are complex, difficult decisions have to be made. But
> we will work with you in a bipartisan fashion. We can do this together and
> we owe it to our families to protect their privacy in the most comprehensive
> way possible.

> Copyright © 1999, U.S. Newswire