Proposed Privacy Legislation Speaks to Health IT Fears

WASHINGTON–Last month, Sens. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and
Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., introduced a bill that would create new
privacy safeguards for patients’ protected health information that,
if enacted, could have a big impact on how providers work with
patient data.

The bill, called the Health Information Privacy and Security Act
of 2007, would create tighter HIPAA rules, giving patients the
power to decide when, and to whom, their health information is
disclosed.

“In America today, if you have a health record, you have a
health privacy problem,” said Leahy. “The ability to easily access
health information electronically–often by the click of a mouse,
or a few key strokes on a computer–can be useful in providing more
cost-effective health care, but it can also lead to a loss of
personal privacy.”

The legislation is the latest in the ongoing saga of health
information technology, which many see as crucial in controlling
spiraling health care costs. Earlier this year, a CMS Office of the
Actuary report predicted that health care expenses would double by
2016, reaching $4.1 trillion, or $1 of every $5 spent in the
U.S.

“America’s per capita health spending is the highest in the
world,” HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt said regarding the findings.
“[T]here is simply no place on the economic leader board for a
nation that spends a fifth of its domestic product on health
care.”

The potential for IT to make the U.S. health industry more
efficient and less prone to medical errors has been touted by
supporters for years. Nonprofit think tank Rand Corp. has predicted
that the country’s health care system could save more than $81
billion a year, as well as improve the quality of care, if
computerized medical records were widely adopted. Leavitt has said
that a standardized health IT system is key to improving care and
lowering costs, and is “pivotal” in “transforming our health care
system.”

President Bush has set a goal for most Americans to have
electronic health records, reiterating in his State of the Union
address this year his goal of reducing costs and medical errors by
improving health IT.

However, privacy concerns–along with those of system
interoperability, physician reluctance, provider licensing,
implementation costs and possible liabilities–have emerged as
obstacles to the implementation of a widespread, unified health IT
system.

A study by the California HealthCare Foundation, an independent
philanthropy, found that 67 percent of Americans are highly
concerned about the privacy of their personal health information.
The study also found that consumers are more trustworthy of
information stored in paper files than in electronic records: 66
percent think the former is more secure.

But the survey also found that, despite those concerns,
consumers have a positive view of health IT and are “willing to
share their personal health data when it offers a benefit, such as
improving the coordination or safety of their care.” Sixty-five
percent of those surveyed acknowledged that computerization could
possibly cut down on medical errors.

Advocates say shared electronic records have the potential to
support consumers and manage patient care more effectively across
settings from homes to physicians’ offices and hospitals. Still,
the road to that kind of secure interoperability is anything but
smooth.

A study released Aug. 9 by RTI International and HHS found that,
while EHRs could save money and reduce fraud and inadvertent errors
in medical billing, current technology and performance standards
don’t measure up to the task. The study team recommended 14
requirements to health industry leaders for more secure EHR
systems.

And on Wednesday, the State Alliance for eHealth, a division of
the National Governors Association, urged state legislators and
other officials to standardize state privacy rules–while ensuring
consumer protection–for exchanging electronic health
information.

Meanwhile, in a statement about the privacy legislation he and
Leahy introduced–and had spent 10 years working on–Kennedy said
“a delicate balance must be struck.

“On one hand, we must allow the sharing of information necessary
for effective health care. At the same time, however, we must
protect Americans’ right to have their health records and
individual health information kept private. For too long, the
balance has been tilted too far against patient privacy, and our
bill is a needed effort to correct that imbalance.”

The measure has been referred to the Committee on Health,
Education, Labor and Pensions.