Blogger: Kevin Kampman
In the Friday, February 29, 2008 USA Today article “Prognosis is bright for Google’s health records plan” identifying Google’s intent to build an online medical records database, some controversy about the privacy and potential misuse of patient records was cited. In particular, the potential for misuse of these records for background or hiring purposes was identified. The statement “But those are human actions. They have nothing to do with the technology.” was attributed to Dr. Molly Coye, Google advisor and CEO of non-profit HealthTech.
This is similar to, if not the same perspective as “Guns don’t kill, people do”. Thankfully, there is plenty of gun safety education, regulation and control as to who shouldn’t or should have weapons. Even so, madmen and crazies kill. People still suffer and die, and their families and society pay. Manufacturers and retailers profit.
With health records available in a readily accessible format and medium, the opportunity for compromise is not just a people problem. If a prospective employer or business entity wants to vet your records, you may be denied employment or access to some service just by refusing to grant them access. The collection and analysis of health information is big business, and access to the statistics may be just as detrimental as access to your records alone. This situation must be balanced by industry accountability and regulation, as well as explicit liabilities borne by those who misappropriate or use the information for illegitimate purposes. As recent financial compromises have shown, there is also a serious risk of insider misuse of private information.
You might think this comparison is off the mark, but the privacy and control of health care records is a critical issue, and turning over control of personal information to a profit-seeking entity without significant, if not bulletproof, individual protections must not be taken lightly. Wasn’t HIPAA supposed to accomplish this? I think it’s time for a real sanity check of what we are considering here. Before the bullet leaves the barrel…
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