Private lessons

A handy guide for the physician who wants to know everything about Internet privacy but is afraid to ask.

By Tyler Chin, amednews staff. March 27, 2000.

Statistics show flying is safer than driving, yet more people fear getting on an airplane than getting in a car.

The same dynamics extend to privacy and confidentiality of online vs. paper-based medical records. Physicians and patients are more afraid of someone gaining unauthorized access to online medical records than they are about exchanging personal medical information over a cordless telephone. Yet these are conversations neighbors sometimes overhear through other cordless phones, baby monitors or televisions.

Additional information

But fears of online privacy breaches are justified. Some physicians fear the Internet because, like flying, if something goes wrong, it can go wrong in a big way.

Although online records are arguably more secure than paper records if the proper measures are implemented, "computers change the scale of the risk involved," in part because online files can be more easily and quickly copied than large paper-based medical files, without anyone noticing, said Adele Waller, an attorney who specializes in health care privacy issues at Bell, Boyd & Lloyd in Chicago.

Physicians perceive the privacy risk of online records to be higher than paper records because "the worst-case scenario for breach of confidentiality of electronic medical records is worse than the one for paper records," Waller said. "The Internet, which is not really primarily designed to be secure, is something that physicians and others feel they have little control over."

That isn't to say that physicians aren't using the Internet in their medical practices. They are, in increasing numbers.

Just as systems are put in place to improve the safety of air and ground travel, security systems also can help doctors improve their ability to protect their own -- and their patients' -- privacy when accessing and transmit medical information online.

What follows is a practical guide to privacy protection, explaining some steps you can take, how Web sites use "cookies" to track what users do online and what cookies and other privacy-related terms mean. It won't guarantee 100% protection, but it will help you minimize your privacy risks.

Enjoy the flight!