[Nonsuch]

I believe that we must protect both vital health care services and the right of every American to have confidence that his or her personal medical records will remain private.

� President Bush, April 12, 2001

In a sharp departure from its past insistence on the sanctity of medical records, the Bush administration has set forth a new, more limited view of privacy rights as it tries to force hospitals and clinics to turn over records of hundreds and perhaps thousands of abortions.

Federal law "does not recognize a physician-patient privilege," the Justice Department said last month in court papers that sought abortion records from Planned Parenthood clinics in California, Kansas, Missouri, Pennsylvania, New York City and Washington. Moreover, the department said in another abortion case, patients "no longer possess a reasonable expectation that their histories will remain completely confidential." [Emphasis mine]

� The New York Times, March 5, 2004

The article also contains this priceless nugget of Orwellian doublespeak:

A spokesman for the White House, Trent D. Duffy, defended the subpoenas. The administration is "strongly committed to medical privacy," and the subpoenas are "completely consistent" with federal privacy rules, Mr. Duffy said.

Oh yeah�the Justice Department has also not told these patients it wants their records, nor (obviously) has it asked their permission.

I've been trying to come up with a pithy bon mot to cap this post, but I'm too disgusted.

[DeathToWindows]

And I thought the HIPAA regulations were annoying enough. 80+ pgs of buracratic crap designed to make healthcare harder to get. retch.

[macvillage.net]

Originally posted by DeathToWindows:
And I thought the HIPAA regulations were annoying enough. 80+ pgs of buracratic crap designed to make healthcare harder to get. retch.

Yea, HIPAA really is a pain for both healthcare providers and doctors to deal with.

Many doctors now have to hire more assistants than they would have had because of the influx of more paperwork, due to bills like this.

It's not just HIPAA, but all of these stupid things put together.

And sadly, nobody seems to see any of the benefits promised. It just turns into more work for medical staff, more delays in the office, and more costs (I'm quite partial to the costs, because doctors are fleeing the state of NJ due to insurance costs, and many are actually just retiring... to the point where the state is question if it should/legally-can intervene).

It's a mess. It's also quite confusing for everyone these days. Every time you go to the doctors, more and more papers to sign, and still, if you want to see a specialist, it can often be delayed for several days because of the lag in paperwork.


Meanwhile, Europe's system is getting smoother and smoother. They are planning to move towards a secure digital system that a Europian can go to any hospital in Europe, and have all their medical records right there. Secure, fast, cooperative.

If the US were smart, we would join into that. Then American tourists/business overseas would also be included, and Europian tourists in the US as well... not to mention every American in the US.

Would cut down the workflow problems, and make care much more efficient.

Would also cut down on problems of people abusing the system, since everything is universally documented.


I know Princeton Medical Center, has done this with the Hospital, and the doctors affiliated in the offices around it. My mother's doctor was able to get her test results once from something completely unrelated by just going to the computer... rather than calling the doctor who issued the test, to call the hospital, and get the test results, and relay it back.

Quite a timesaver, cuts down on a lot of administrative costs.

[spacefreak]

Originally posted by Nonsuch:
Oh yeah�the Justice Department has also not told these patients it wants their records, nor (obviously) has it asked their permission.

The records are to be anonymous. Nobody's names are going to be attached to the records. It's for the purpose of compiling statistics.

Do you bitch, whine, and complain whenever the CDC obtains medical records to compile studies on AIDS and cancers? Are you up in arms whenever the government obtains medical records to determine how many people get sick or die from smoking each year? There are thousands of similar record-sharing cases in which medical records are compiled. Nobody seems to bitch about those instances.

You should take your case to the Supreme Court and prevent ALL medical records from being used in ALL studies. Then you'll really be serving your nation.