BUSINESSCalifornia could ban foreign outsourcing of patient filesFive other states are considering restrictions on handling private data by offshore contractors.By Tyler Chin, AMNews staff. March 15, 2004. The California Legislature is considering at least three bills to bar or restrain physicians and health care entities from outsourcing work that would involve sending and handling of confidential medical information internationally. On Feb. 19, state Sen. Joseph Dunn introduced a bill prohibiting overseas outsourcing of medical and financial information outside the United States. Separately on the same date, Sen. Liz Figueroa filed a "spot" bill to protect the privacy of medical and financial information handled abroad. The Legislature also will consider a bill from California Assemblyman Tim Leslie requiring contractors to inform their clients if they transcribe or process medical information abroad. Leslie's bill also requires that doctors and other health care professionals obtain a patient's consent before information is sent offshore. At press time, six states -- Arizona California, Colorado, New Jersey, South Carolina and Washington -- were considering outsourcing bills related to the privacy of medical, financial or personal information, said Justin Marks, a policy associate at the National Conference of State Legislatures. Although most would require employees of call centers to disclose their physical location to consumers, the three California bills specifically address medical privacy. [...]Full text of AMNews content is available to AMA members and paid subscribers.
Copyright 2004 American Medical Association. All rights reserved.
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