2/24/2006 ACTION
NEEDED!
1601 N. Tucson Blvd.
Suite 9
Tucson, AZ 85716-3450
Phone: (800)
635-1196
Hotline: (800) 419-4777Association of American Physicians and
Surgeons, Inc.
A Voice for Private Physicians Since
1943
Omnia pro
aegroto
- STATE PRIVACY PROTECTIONS
THREATENED BY FEDERAL BILL
- H. R. 4157 would allow new federal
officer to kill states’ medical privacy policies
- Call or write Congress to
oppose: (202) 224-3121 Click here to
email
Congress
could vote soon to pass H.R. 4157, deceptively titled the “Health Information
Technology Promotion Act.” A
somewhat different Senate version, S. 1418 (“Wired for Health Care” has already
passed, lead by sponsors Ted Kennedy and Hillary Clinton.
The bill
purports to promote an interoperable health information technology system, with
a promise of systems that can “talk” to each so that medical records can be
easily shared, resulting in better patient care and cost
savings.
Speeding on
the Information Superhighway Could Result in Medical Pile
Up
Sounds
good, right? But the problem lies
in what has to be done to get to that point, and our concern is that medical
privacy with be the first casualty. (See article below about electronic medical
records stolen from
Here are
the problems with this bill:
1. Overrules state laws
It
allows the federal government to overrule any existing or future state privacy
laws if they might interfere with the establishment of this national
interoperable system;
2. Expands power of HHS
Secretary
Give
power to only one person – the HHS Secretary – to decide what state laws are in
the way of the new system.
3. No guarantee of patient consent:
There is
no requirement that any standards established by the federal government include
patient consent for disclosure of medical records;
4. Concentrates power in one non-elected
official
The bill
grants massive powers to one individual, the National Coordinator for
Information Technology, to be appointed by the President. He would oversee
development of the national technology system, and will have authority to
contract with private companies to do so.
5.
Potential conflicts-of-interest
The
potential for rampant conflicts-of-interest are enormous, as the electronic
medical records business has become a multi-billion dollar industry. The same companies that GATHER the
information make money by SELLING it.
This
bill establishes a permanent committee of appointed industry representatives. We
are likely to end up with the same dilemma we have with vaccine policy: those who stand to benefit financially
are those who get to make the policy recommendations.
Tell Congress
to Protect Your Privacy & Kill H.R. 4157
The
impact on patient privacy could be devastating. Since HIPAA, which eliminated patient
consent for disclosure of medical records, went into effect, the only true
protection available to patients has been state laws that set a higher standard
than the federal law. But if this
bill passes, these tougher state laws could be sacrificed in the name of
efficiency.
Many of
you support the use of technology for medical records. But plain and simple, here is the
problem as stated so well by a former director of information systems for
CMS:
You can
build an information system to SHARE information, or you can build an
information system to PROTECT & STORE information. But you cannot have one system do
both. And even those (such as the
Pentagon’s) designed to protect information have been
compromised.
Until we
solve that dilemma, a secure system is impossible, and your medical records are
at risk.
Congressional
switchboard: (202)
224-3121
WRITE
YOUR REPRESENTATIVE
READ
AAPS LETTER TO CONGRESS
READ “Electronic
Medical Records a Bonanza for Thieves”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Stolen laptop puts patients' info at
risk
Computer holds insurance claims of
4,000 treated at M.D. Anderson
By TODD ACKERMAN and SALATHEIA
BRYANT
Copyright 2006
HoustonChronicle.com --
http://www.HoustonChronicle.com | Section:
Houston & Texas
The private health information and Social Security numbers of nearly 4,000 patients of the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center are at risk after a laptop containing their insurance claims was stolen.
Patients and
patients' families were notified this month of the theft, which occurred in
November at the
"The laptop
that was stolen does have sophisticated encryption software, so it will be very
difficult for someone to access patient information," Carrie Lyons, M.D.
Calls to
PricewaterhouseCoopers were not returned.
Information
contained in the laptop included patients' names, policy numbers, Social
Security numbers, dates of birth, ZIP codes, medical procedures and dates of
service.
She said none
has reported learning his information was accessed.
"Businesses
need to realize they have an obligation to protect information to see that it
doesn't fall into the wrong hands because when it does it's a problem," said Tom
Carter, senior attorney in the Dallas-based Southwest Regional office of the
Federal Trade Commission. "That
information is only as safe as they keep it."
Patients and
their families should get copies of their credit report, Carter said, adding,
"if some company is concerned enough to give me notice, I'm going to spend time
checking it out."
Harris County
Assistant District Attorney John Brewer, who works in the identity-theft
division, said it's unlikely that common thieves have high-tech
encryption-breaking devices. But he said that should not give people a false
sense of security.
"Your
personal information is so out there that encryption is the least of your
problems," Brewer said. "It's all the other places it is that you need to worry
about if you want to worry. No place is safe. Anybody who has good credit is a
likely victim."
HoustonChronicle.com --
http://www.HoustonChronicle.com | Section:
Houston & Texas
This
article is:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/headline/metro/3679070.html
.