"But opponents said those and other exceptions allow too much trafficking in medical records."
Supporters of the bill, in addition to Bennett, include a diverse group of Senators, such as Sens. Robert Dole and Edward Kennedy, and groups such as "IBM, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, the American Hospital Association and the Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange." Opponents of the bill include the "Electronic Privacy Information Center, the Coalition for Patient Rights of New England, Ralph Nader's Consumer Project on Technology and the Massachusetts chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union."
This issue is an important one, especially as the health care system in America switches to a Managed Health Care system. The use of electronic data will increase, in order to reduce paperwork and identify cost-effective treatments, to name a few. However, this will make patient records more accessible to more groups.
What is your opinion? The Chiropractic Discussion List is ready to post your comments.
Surf to the Congressional Home page to view this bill: S. 1260