Why Online Medical Record Keeping is perceived as the Greatest Confidentiality Threat
Computerization of medical health records will indeed promote thegreater use of e-business in the medical/health arena. It will alsoprovide physicians around the world with greater access to patientinformation and case studies. Tied to these benefits however, is the riskthat the publication of medical records electronically poses a greatersecurity risk and potential for breech of confidentiality. HIPAA hasrecently enacted legislation targeted toward simplifying e-businessprocesses and standardizing processes, but the effectiveness of thislegislation with respect to security issues has yet to be tested in the'real world' marketplace. This idea is explored in greater detail below. The combination of medicine and computer technology is both promisingand concerning. Alpert (2003) discusses the ubiquitous nature of thecombination of medicine with computer technology, noting that computershave allowed the medical record "to be transformed from merely a chronicleof direct patient care to an essential tool of managed care." This idea issupported by other researchers including Gostin (1995) who points out thosetechnological advances will become an essential aspect of care in th
Health care providers point out that too much restrictionhowever, might backfire, preventing physicians in an emergency situationfrom obtaining the information they need. Whether or not extensive abuse willoccur is still questionable. It is notfeasible that a patient could predict all of the people that might seek outinformation regarding their health and prevent access to their records inthis situation. In the meantime, physicians, administratorsand patients must work closely together in order to ensure patient privacyis maintained. This security risk of course existed prior to the advent ofcomputerized medical records processing. Asyet, few standards have been developed that specifically address thepotential for security breeches along this venue. Despite these concerns medical records are consistently becomingconverted electronically. It is important to note however,that electronic records are more easily manipulated, copied anddisseminated than paper ones. Even patients seeking copies of theirmedical files had to wait a period of time traditionally to get copies oftheir medical records on paper, because of the extraneous labor involved. Naser & Alpert (1999) pointed out however, that demand of patientinformation is increasing among individuals with no direct clinicalrelationship to the patient. Greely (2000) also points out that as patients have more access totheir medical records, they are more likely to request access and may besubject to doctors notes that might otherwise have been less candid hadphysicians known patients could more easily access information. Greely (2000) suggests that an expansion of access to medical records,possible under a computerized situation, would give "millions of healthcare providers the power to access records under certain conditions" andsuggests that "any of those people could breach the confidentiality andpublicize the medical records of a famous patient or acquaintance. Only just this year have most health care organizationsbegun adopting the standards for electronic transactions and privacystandards related to electronic medical records information storage. "Medical researchers and marketers also consistently seek out access tomedical records which may pose potential security issues. Medical records store evidence ofcare a patient has received or will be receiving, and makes thatinformation easily accessible to insurance agents, employers, managed careorganizations and even state officials (Alpert, 2003).
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Acceptance Essays
