Privacy & Security
There's been a lot of talk about privacy protections, or lack thereof, in electronic health records, particularly in context of the economic stimulus proposal that includes $20 billion for health IT.
When I read a headline like "Privacy advocates hail stimulus bills," I immediately wonder which privacy advocates.
Transparency, in the form of a complete, patient-centered and accessible health record is a policy principle that can drive the next wave of health care innovation. Investing exclusively in institutional EHRs will further stifle efficiency, innovation and improvement.
When I lecture about the new generation of personal health records such as Google Health and Microsoft Healthvault, I emphasize that these applications are not covered by HIPAA.
