[twila at cchc-mn.org: RELEASE: Privacy Rule Not Complete]

[declan at well.com]

----- Forwarded message from Twila Brase <twila at cchc-mn.org> -----

PRESS RELEASE 
For Immediate Release 
April 13, 2001 

====================================== 
Citizens' Council on Health Care 
1954 University Ave. W., Suite 8 
St. Paul, MN  55104 
http://www.cchc-mn.org 
============================= 
CONTACT: 
Twila Brase, R.N., President 
651-646-8935p 
============================= 


Privacy Rule Not Complete 

St. Paul, Minnesota--While some privacy advocates are cheering  
the Bush Administration's decision to move ahead with the  
privacy rule, other groups say the rule contains less privacy 
than meets the eye. 

"We are pleased that the concept of patient consent has been  
retained by the Bush Administration, however, the rule still  
allows government officials and law enforcement to access medical  
records without patient consent or a search warrant." says Twila  
Brase, R.N., President of Minnesota-based Citizens' Council on  
Health Care (CCHC). 

FEDERAL LICENSE TO INTRUDE  
Little attention has been focused on the section of the rule which  
provides disclosures without authorization. The rule allows health  
care professionals, health plans, hospitals, and data clearinghouses  
to disclose medical data without patient consent to law enforcement  
agents, public health agencies, public policy and medical researchers, 
government officials, and other groups, such as organ transplant  
organizations. There is no requirement to comply with requests for  
disclosure, however, disclosure without consent is specifically  
permitted.  

"The rule provides a federal license to intrude. It permits keepers  
of patient data to disclose confidential information without patient  
consent for public health purposes, police investigations, and medical 
and policy research" says Brase. She says the result of this will be:  
	 
* more individuals and groups claiming to be involved in public  
policy and medical research gaining access to medical records. 

* centralized and nationally linked patient databases built by  
state and federal government officials. 

* dismissal of citizens' Fourth Amendment protections against  
search and seizure without a search warrant. 

The rule also gives the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services  
(HHS) full access to medical records to enforce the provisions of the  
privacy rule. 

"What everyone seems to have missed in this privacy rule is that  
to a certain extent, private medical records have just been deemed  
public property." Brase asserts. 

GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS CAN SHARE DATA 
Brase says the patient consent requirements should extend to all  
access and disclosures of medical records. If law enforcement cannot  
get consent, they should be required to get a court order or a  
search warrant prior to access, she says. Brase points out that once  
government and law enforcement officials have the data, there is no  
requirement for them to follow the rule: "There's nothing in the  
rule to keep government officials from sharing, linking, trading,  
transferring or selling the data if they so choose." 

CHANGES TO BE MADE 
HHS will be making revisions to the rule for the next 12 months, a  
period in which CCHC hopes that government access will be trimmed by  
patient consent and search warrant requirements. 

"Goverment access is a huge loophole in the privacy rule. Either  
patient privacy is protected or it is not. There can be no half loaf  
of privacy, because once the data is out, it can go anywhere,"  
Brase asserts.  

### 

Citizens' Council on Health Care is a non-profit health care policy 
organization located in St. Paul, Minnesota.  







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----- End forwarded message -----