On Thursday, the Center for Democracy and Technology's Health Privacy Project released a report recommending a comprehensive privacy and security framework for sharing sensitive patient health data online, Healthcare IT News reports.
The report urges lawmakers and the private sector to develop policies and practices that protect patient rights while facilitating information sharing. The report warned that a system that relies too much on patient consent could lead to patients providing blanket consent for full data disclosure.
Deven McGraw, director of the Health Privacy Project, said, "It is unrealistic to ask patients to make nuanced decisions about every possible use of their health data."
Instead, consumers need a system that includes audit trails, technical safeguards, enforcement and other policies.
In addition, the report notes that a more comprehensive framework, rather than piecemeal solutions, is needed to address privacy and security issues (Manos, Healthcare IT News, 5/16).
Patient Trust
The report cites two polls that found the public wants electronic health records, but residents are worried that their data could be used against them by employers or health insurers.
According to the report's authors, patient distrust will lead to data inaccuracies, which will negatively affect research, public health and quality initiatives.
The report does not call for the adoption of a specific security framework, but it heavily implies that the one developed by Connecting for Health, a Markle Foundation project, would suffice, Modern Healthcare reports (Conn, Modern Healthcare, 5/16).