On September 13 the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced appointments to a new federal committee to help speed up the development of a national electronic medical-records system of interoperable databases. The recently established 17-member American Health Information Community consists largely of government and industry representatives with strong interests in data collection, such as health insurers. Their goal is to advance President Bush’s call for electronic health records within ten years.

A critical issue that must be addressed is: Do Americans have a right to privacy? If so, how would a national system of electronic medical records affect that right? It’s clear that under the existing federal medical-privacy rule, creating a national database or linking electronic medical-records databases could be a recipe for breaches of confidentiality. That’s because, as the Institute for Health Freedom has stressed over and over, the rule eliminates the freedom to decide who has access to one’s health information in most circumstances.

Additionally, there are serious concerns regarding the potential conflicts of interests in the medical-privacy arena. For example, the New American reported on September 5 that former HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson recently joined Applied Digital, a Florida company that owns VeriChip. The article points out that Verichip is “the company that specializes in making implantable radio frequency identification chips (RFID) for both people and pets.” The article further cites The Business (a London-based publication) report that Thompson “is putting the final touches to a plan that could result in US citizens having [an RFID] chip inserted under their skin.” The New American also notes, “According to The Business report, ‘the RFID capsules would be linked to a computerized database being created by [HHS] to store and manage the nation’s health records.’”

It is important to note that the privacy rule was modified to eliminate patient consent while Thompson was HHS secretary. Americans must continue to monitor closely the intended and unintended consequences of health-care reforms. Eliminating the precious ethic of consent is hardly an improvement.

Sources:

• Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONCHIT), American Health Information Community Press Release, September 13, 2005: http://www.hhs.gov/healthit/ahic.html
• “Electronic Medical-records Plan Raises Fears: Privacy Advocates Missing from Feds' Recommendation Panel,” World Net Daily, September 17, 2005: http://worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=46370
• “The New Healthcare System,” New American, September 5, 2005: http://www.thenewamerican.com/artman/publish/article_2089.shtml
• “‘Health Chips’ Could Help Patients in US,” The Business (London), July 31, 2005: http://www.rednova.com/news/display/?id=196561