Posted on 12/05/2002 5:43:44 AM PST by LurkedLongEnough
ST. PAUL, Minn. (HIPAA Wire) A Minnesota state judge ruled Dec. 1 to permit the state’s Health Department to collect medical records on almost every state citizen, according to the Associated Press.
Administrative law judge Allan Klein agreed with the Minnesota Health Department that collecting medical data would aid researchers who study disease clusters throughout the state, a decision that came as a shock to groups who feel the ruling means patient privacy in the state has hit a brick wall.
But an official with the Health Department said the risk to patient privacy is minimal compared to the benefits that would result from greater access to medical records.
The ruling provides for the creation of a huge database to track the quality of health care in the state. The database would include information such as individuals who had a stroke or an abortion, as well the specific medications taken by patients, the AP reports.
Klein said there was no way to reconcile the disparate perspectives and desires among privacy advocates and the Health Department, but admonished the Department to take the appropriate steps to protect patient privacy.
Health officials claim the information gathered in the database would enable them to improve the quality of health care. They say patient identifiers would be deleted or encrypted before the data leaves the Department for any purpose.
Anyone else interested in following HIPAA issues? For background on the shocking regulations passed by Congress in 1996, see Medical Privacy - National Standards to Protect the Privacy of Personal Health Information. Also search FR on "HIPAA". This is not a new issue -- and it's one that every American should know about. The government is collecting your private health information and the right to sue them has been legislated away.
Ah. "The Greater Good" argument. Didn't Marx make that mainstream?
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