Privacy, Confidentiality, and Electronic Medical Records

Abstract

The enhanced availability of health information in an electronic format is strategic for industry-wide efforts to improve the quality and reduce the cost of health care, yet it brings a concomitant concern of greater risk for loss of privacy among health care participants. The authors review the conflicting goals of accessibility and security for electronic medical records and discuss nontechnical and technical aspects that constitute a reasonable security solution. It is argued that with guiding policy and current technology, an electronic medical record may offer better security than a traditional paper record.

Health Care Consumers' Preferences Around Health Information Exchange

“…19 There are state and federal organizations engaged in identifying technical standards and consistent privacy policies to facilitate and protect HIE, such as the Standards and Interoperability Framework committee. 20 Ensuring that HIE standards and policies incorporate consumer preferences, and expanding the scope of consumer engagement and education campaigns around an HIE will be key in gaining the public's trust.…”

Development of Health Care e-Services in the European Union

“…E-health record is a set of medical information about an individual in the electronic form, usually containing personal and demographic data, patient medical history, laboratory results and other information related to the health of the individual. Although e-health record is considered to be one of the key decision making tools regarding the patient's health, it is necessary to enable the patient to preserve the privacy of certain data sets (Barrows and Clayton, 1996). It is necessary to provide certain restriction measures to a patient which he/she will be able to use in order to prevent doctors from having access to some data sets of their e-health record.…”

Electronic Medical Records: Friends or Foes?

“…Prior to EMR, someone would have to view you looking at the wrong chart in order to alert management of inappropriate access. Enforcement of the law and of professionalism standards is much easier with the new systems [2].…”