[Med-privacy] PRIVACY IN E-PRESCRIBING (release)

[peter marshall]

CONTACT:
Ashley Katz
Patient Privacy Rights
(512) 732-033 or (512) 897-6390
akatz@patientprivacyrights.org
www.patientprivacyrights.org
View as a PDF


25 NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS URGE PRIVACY IN E-PRESCRIBING

What Could Be Scary About E-Prescribing? Plenty.

Washington, DC Twenty five organizations, including the ACLU, the=20
Republican Liberty Caucus, the American Council for the Blind and the=20
National Association of Social Workers joined forces via the Coalition=20=

for Patient Privacy to urge Congress to include privacy protections in=20=

any federal electronic prescribing legislation. Read the Coalition=92s=20=

letter to Congress here.

What is scary about e-prescribing? Much more than you might think.=20
Today, plenty of private corporations and employers have access to=20
Americans=92 private prescription use that includes individually=20
identifiable data. Deborah Peel, MD, Founder of Patient Privacy Rights=20=

and leader of the Coalition explains the need for privacy with=20
e-prescribing, "Our current system allows every prescription in the=20
United States to be data mined and sold. This has been the reality for=20=

over a decade. You cannot keep a prescription private in the U.S. or=20
stop your data from being sold, even if you pay cash." This practice is=20=

completely compliant with the Health Information Portability and=20
Accountability Act (HIPAA).

While e-prescribing is attractive to many, Americans do not want their=20=

private prescription information data mined and used without their=20
permission. Many Americans would be quite alarmed to discover their=20
employer and others know they take an anti-anxiety medication or that=20
they are being treated for an STD. West Virginia is a perfect example:=20=

when state employees recently learned that Express Scripts was selling=20=

their prescription records to data miners, they were outraged. Express=20=

Scripts promptly agreed to stop this practice when faced with losing=20
200,000 customers.

Some argue the e-prescribing bills do not change anything. While the=20
fact that the U.S. has a systemic, extensive system for prescription=20
data mining and sale is NOT a secret anymore, the Coalition argues that=20=

now is the ideal time to end this unethical use of our private=20
prescription records. When you know something bad is happening, that is=20=

the time to stop it. "Would you sit there and watch a house burn down,=20=

or let somebody bleed to death before your eyes and do nothing? Or=20
would try to stop those harms?" asks Peel. "Now that we know beyond a=20
shadow of a doubt that the systemic theft and misuse of personal data=20
is occurring, why wouldn=92t we do all we can to stop it now, starting=20=

with e-prescribing?" Members of the Coalition for Patient Privacy=20
actually see this debate as a golden opportunity to ensure both=20
progress and privacy.

The Coalition for Patient Privacy recommends the following basic=20
principles in any e-prescribing legislation:
	=95 	include a right to health information privacy (the right =
to control=20
access to personal health information);
	=95 	require that any prescription data transmitted via =
e-prescribing be=20
used only for the express purpose of prescription filling and=20
submitting the necessary codes to the insurer for payment;
	=95 	include a provision requiring prompt notification of =
privacy=20
breaches;
	=95 	include a provision that creates meaningful penalties =
and=20
enforcement mechanisms for violations detected by patients, advocates=20
and government regulators;
	=95 	include provisions enhancing the security of =
e-prescription data=20
such as encryption when data is transmitted, stored or retained in any=20=

storage and retrieval systems, including access devices, readable cards=20=

or other methods;
	=95 	ensure physicians who decline to use e-prescribing are =
not=20
penalized;
	=95 	ensure transparency by requiring annual reporting to =
patients=20
listing everyone who has accessed their prescription data;
	=95 	include a provision ensuring stronger state privacy laws =
are not=20
pre-empted;
	=95 	require reporting of privacy complaints to the Centers =
for Medicare=20
and Medicaid Services (CMS);
	=95 	require CMS to provide an annual report to Congress on =
privacy=20
complaints made; andensure prescription technology allows those with=20
disabilities to be able to use e-prescribing tools efficiently and=20
effectively.


[....]


The Coalition for Patient Privacy first formed in 2006 and=A0represents=20=

millions of Americans. Dr. Peel leads the Coalition and is the founder=20=

of Patient Privacy Rights, a national consumer health privacy watchdog=20=

organization based in Austin, TX.=A0

[....]
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