[Med-privacy] prescription privacy

[peter marshall]

A coalition of 25 privacy and civil liberty organizations sent a letter
to the key Congressional Committees on Capitol Hill regarding the
importance of patient prescription privacy. The coalition asked that
patient privacy should be a key consideration as Congress considers the
adoption of electronic prescribing policy.

As a solution for medical errors and to make health care administration
more efficient, technology to support the sharing of prescription
information across databases is being advanced. However, the data
transfer capability of e-prescribing services may also be used for data
mining and research purposes. E-prescribing may also allow the sale and
reuse of prescription information without the consent or knowledge of
patients.

The letter outlined basic principles in the adoption of e-prescribing
such as a right to health information privacy; use of data only for
medical purposes; prompt notification of privacy breaches; meaningful
penalties; opt-out option for physicians; annual reports on patient
access to their data; no preemption of state privacy laws; and greater
transparency on Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

EPIC Medical Privacy Page:

       http://epic.org/privacy/medical/

EPIC Amicus Brief, IMS v. State of New Hampshire (pdf):

       http://epic.org/privacy/imshealth/epic_ims.pdf

Link to Privacy Letter on E-Prescribing:
       http://epic.org/redirect/eprescribing_letter.html