Technology - Privacy Issues with Web-Based Medical Information Essay

Privacy Issues with Web-Based Medical Information Abstract: With growing concerns about the privacy of personal medical information, the president has taken action and passed regulations attempting to protect this privacy. It should work well in traditional health care situations, but it questions still remain about how applicable it will be to health care on the web. A hacker downloads thousands of medical records from the University of Washington Medical School [1]. Eli Lilly and Co. accidentally discloses the email addresses of 6000 patients who are taking Prozac [2]. With these incidents fresh in the minds of many people, the privacy of medical information has been a hot topic. It has joined other issues such as the confidentiality of financial records in the forefront of the American public’s consciousness. In April, 2001, President Bush made an unexpected move and gave the OK to Clinton-era rules that protect medical privacy. Much to the chagrin of the health care industry, Bush reversed his repealing of the Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act (HIPAA), which requires doctors to get written consent from patients to share their medical information and allows patients to view their records and to amend them if necessary [3]. Commenting on the regulations, the President commented, â€Å"for the first time, patients will have full access to their medical records and more control over how their personal information will be used and disclosed.† [3] These regulations apply well to the physical world of health care, but when taken in the context of Web-based care, they become ambiguous, and even misleading, and fail to comprehensively protect privacy. President Bush’s move to implement the rules was a sur... ... 1. The Denver Post. November 20, 2001 Tuesday. First Edition. Pg C-01. â€Å"Web Health-Privacy Rules Help Few, Report Claims.† By Jennifer Beauprez 2. Exposed Online: Why the new federal health privacy regulation doesn’t offer much protection to internet users.† A Pew Internet Project report. Monday, November 19, 2001. 3. The Boston Globe. April 13, 2001 Friday. Third Edition. Pg. A-3. â€Å"U.S. Bolsters the Power of Patients to Guard Privacy of Personal Data.† By Anthony Shadid. 4. The Washington Post. February 10, 2001, Saturday. Final Edition. Pg A-10. â€Å"EEOC Sues to Halt Worker Gene Tests.† By Sarah Schafer. 5. www.healthprivacy.org/usr_doc/final%20Ooverview%20chart%2pdf. www.healthprivacy.org is the online manifestation of the Health Privacy Project, a program run by the Institute for Health Care Research and Policy at Georgetown University.