[Med-privacy] Re: [Politech] "Privacy advocates endanger lives!" [priv]

[Jeff Williams]

Declan, Richard and all,

  It is certainly unclear that medical records privacy at the current
level of technology of VeriChip's can even begin to meet the need
for medical records privacy.  However there are a number of other
areas on the legal front, such as trust provisions regarding terms
vs HIPPA with respect to billing management that are lacking
as well and pose a horrible and damaging threat to elderly and
indigent children whom are beneficiaries or grantors of said
trusts...


Declan McCullagh wrote:

> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject:        Privacy advocates endanger lives
> Date:   Tue, 26 Oct 2004 13:53:52 -0400
> From:   Richard M. Smith <rms@computerbytesman.com>
> To:     'Declan McCullagh' <declan@well.com>, <rms@computerbytesman.com>
>
> Hi Declan,
>
> The attached letter to the Boston Globe provides an interesting
> viewpoint on VeriChip.  Nothing prevents Ms. Southwell's mother from
> being chipped today if she wants to.  However, it is unlikely that her
> medical records will be online anytime soon.  If down the road we have
> universal online medical records, it is far from clear if the VeriChip
> technology has the proper security measures for protecting medical records.
>
> Richard
>
> http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/letters/articles/2004/10/24/privacy_advocates_endanger_lives?mode=PF
>
>    Privacy advocates endanger lives
>
> October 24, 2004
>
> DOCTORS PERFORMED emergency surgery on my 85-year-old mother recently
> without having her medical history. She would have benefited from
> VeriChip, an implantable microchip that gives doctors instant access to
> a patient's health records. No one will benefit from VeriChip if the
> privacy advocates who denounced the device's approval have their way.
>
> In their paranoid crusade against Big Brother, they feel justified in
> restricting access to life-saving medical data. Legislation passed
> through their efforts also prevented me from facilitating the transfer
> of my mother's medical records from her regular doctor to the emergency
> room.
>
> Privacy advocates may think they're protecting my mother from
> information misuse in the future. Instead, they endangered her life by
> restricting access to her health history. They shouldn't have the right
> to impose their beliefs on the rest of us, especially when it
> compromises our choices regarding our healthcare.
>
> /BARBARA SOUTHWELL
> Concord
> /
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Regards,

--
Jeffrey A. Williams
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