[Med-privacy] EMRs

[Peter Marshall]

*** US Divided on Privacy Risks of Electronic Medical Records ***

US adults are divided right down the middle on whether the potential 
privacy risks associated with a patient electronic medical record 
system outweigh the expected benefits to patients and society, 
according to testimony given recently before the National Committee on 
Vital and Health Statistics (NCVHS) of the Department of Health and 
Human Services (HHS). The testimony was based on results of a new 
national Harris Interactive telephone survey on the American public's 
views regarding Electronic Medical Records (EMR). Majorities are 
worried that sensitive health information might leak because of weak 
data security; that there could be more sharing of patients' medical 
information without their knowledge; that computerization could 
increase rather than decrease medical errors; that some people won't 
disclose necessary information to health care providers because of 
worries that it will go into computerized records; and that existing 
federal health privacy rules will be reduced in the name of efficiency.

Read more:
http://www.hipaadvisory.com/news/newsarchives/2005/0223pandab.htm