Free Republic

Contributing Editor: Health Sciences Institute e-Alert, 4/14/2003 Orwell Redux If you're a U.S. citizen, as of today you now have a medical identification number. Some will tell you that your new ID number helps protect your privacy. And while to some extent it does, the protections are largely superficial. The disturbing truth is that your medical privacy is now beyond your control. Just sign here... The next time you visit your doctor, you may notice some changes. For instance, you might see privacy screens placed around the edges of computer monitors to prevent someone from glancing at your personal medical...

Excuse the vanity, but I had to take my kid to the pediatrician today, then had to go to the pharmacy, and I had my first direct experience with the new medical privacy regulations known as HIPAA. I didn't have to fill out that many forms and answer that many questions to mortgage a house. And all the stuff they were doing ... hoods over the computers lest any nosy person see any private info, marking out names with a huge black marker on the signout sheet lest any nosy person see anyone else's name, a "wall" that no one...

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...