Charles G. Kels, JD writes to the Editors of JAMA: In their Viewpoint on the confidentiality of electronic health records (EHRs), Dr Bayer and colleagues made a compelling case that the benefits of EHRs must be weighed against the challenges they pose to adolescent and parental privacy. Read his full letter and the authors’ reply on JAMA.
Category: Healthcare
Military: The “precarious balance” of medical privacy and command curiosity
Zachary D Spilman writes: There is an interesting article about mental health issues in the recent issue of the Military Law Review: Major Cara-Ann M. Hamaguchi, A Precarious Balance: Managing Stigma, Confidentiality, and Command Awareness in the Mental Health Arena, 222 Mil. L. Rev. 156 (Winter 2015) (available here). The article: examines the conflict between privacy…
UK: Your privacy for sale: From plastic surgery to eating disorders, medical secrets sold to the cold call sharks
Katherine Faulkner, Paul Bentley, and Lucy Osborne continue the Daily Mail‘s reporting on the sale of personal information in the UK: A firm linked to the sale of NHS patient data is offering details of eating disorder sufferers for just 12p a head, the Mail can reveal today. It has also offered to supply names…
De-Identifcation of Data: Breaking Down HIPAA Rules
Elizabeth Snell writes: The de-identification of data is an important part of healthcare technology, especially as the use of EHRs and HIEs becomes more prominent. The HIPAA Privacy Rule states that once data has been de-identified, covered entities can use or disclose it without any limitation. The information is no longer considered PHI, and does…