[Med-privacy] Wired Act

[peter marshall]

Privacy Protections Lacking in US Healthcare Bill

Senators Kennedy and Enzi proposed the Wired for Healthcare Quality Act,
S. 1693, in an effort to advance health information technology. However,
members of the Coalition for Patient Privacy claim that the Wired Act
does not contain meaningful protections to keep individuals' health
information private, and have asked that the bill go no further until
privacy protections are added. According to advocacy group Patient
Privacy Rights, "passage of the Wired Act as written will further erode
Americans' right to keep their health records private and cost the
taxpayers millions." Senator Leahy has drafted an amendment adding
privacy protections, and the Coalition for Patient Privacy sent a letter
to the Senate this week urging the Wired Act's sponsors to include all
of the privacy protections proposed in Senator Leahy's amendment.

Wired for Health Care Quality Act, S.1693:

      http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d110:s.01693:

Senator Leahy amendment (pdf):

      http://www.epic.org/privacy/pdf/LeahyAmdt.pdf

Coalition for Patient Privacy letter to Senators Kennedy and Enzi (Dec.
10, 2007) (pdf):

      http://www.epic.org/privacy/pdf/CoalitionLetter.pdf

[EPIC]