07/09/2008

Medical privacy : the next frontier

and the soldiers since 2006 in this battle in the US for the moment (but of which the EU is also dreaming as our ehealth gurus) are also the world privacy forum and not without success

  • The World Privacy Forum presented a workshop to providers and government stakeholders regarding medical identity theft and best practices for responding to the crime in March 2008.
  • In January 2008, a California law based on the World Privacy Forum recommendations in its report went into effect.
  • their most important documents are

    the report (2006)

    best practices

    extension of ehealth to the pharma sector  and this is closely linked to their viewpoints on genetic privacy (is less futuristic than it looks)

    and also about

    the personal health systems (Google, Microsoft) Personal Health Records: Why Many PHRs Threaten Privacy (PDF, 16 pages)

    and this is made clear by their recommendations which make it directly clear that the ordinary citizen will not have the knowledge, time or resources to fully understand what the consequences are of agreeing to make a personal health file

  • Don't assume your medical records are protected no matter where they are: HIPAA privacy protections generally do not follow the health care files
  • Look before you share: the details are in the fine print
  • If the PHR is not covered by HIPAA, the health information may be handled in ways you do not expect
  • It is crucial to pay attention to what consent forms you are signing or checking off in any PHR
  • All PHRs are likely to make some disclosures of information
  • Reading the fine print of advertising-supported PHRs is essential
  • When accessing any PHR, practice good computer hygiene
  • more info on their special page

     

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