Bill recommends medical records privacy commission
Washington -- Legislation has been introduced to establish a bipartisan federal commission that would take a broad look at all the medical records privacy issues surfacing in this new computer-driven age.
The bill, by Reps. Asa Hutchinson (R, Ark.) and Jim Moran (D, Va.), won praise from the AMA for its potential for increasing public awareness of threats to the privacy of medical records.
In the course of treatment, patients share intimate information with doctors, noted AMA Trustee William G. Plested III, MD. "Yet an individual's insurance, employment, and even personal relations with their family and friends can all be adversely affected by confidential medical information in the wrong hands or used for the wrong reasons," he said.
The commission would undertake an 18-month investigation of privacy issues and report to Congress on its findings, including the need for additional legislation.
The bill has attracted a variety of boosters, including doctors, health care firms, the high-tech industry and health insurers.
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