Casey Gerry Law Blog

What is said in a doctor’s office remains in the doctor’s office – right?

While that should be the case, many experts are convinced that the inevitable introduction of online medical records will eventually eradicate a patient’s right to privacy.
The Federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act  -- which went into effect in 2003 -- (HIPAA) stipulates that information health care providers place in records is private.  In fact, medical records are completely confidential, unless written consent is provided. Only the patient, or the parent or guardian of the patient can access medical records with out written permission.

New privacy regulations issued by the federal Department of Health and Human Services  require health care plans, doctors, hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and other covered entities to allow consumers access to medical records within 30 days.
Realistically, consumers must share health information in order to obtain care and qualify for insurance. Government agencies may also request medical records to verify claims made through Medicare, MediCal, Social Security Disability, and Workers Compensation.

Regardless, a patient’s medical records should never be divulged with out his or her written consent. However, State and Federal  lawmakers never anticipated the advent of web-based record keeping. In and effort to cut costs and eliminate red tape, medical records are poised to go online within the next few years, raising legitimate concerns about the visibility of sensitive patient information.

In fact, in a speech last year, President Obama said that his administration wants every American to have an electronic health record within five years. Last year's stimulus bill allocated over $36 billion to build these electronic record systems. Electronic records, says  Obama will cut waste and reduce the need to repeat expensive medical tests,  saving lives by “reducing the deadly but preventable medical errors that pervade our health-care system."

Yet electronic medical records won't accomplish any of these goals if patients are fearful of sharing information with doctors because of privacy issues.

Indeed, it will be tough to ensure the security of patients' records in a nationalized computer network. Potential problems of privacy controls, hackers and system failures will have to be addressed well in advance.