Health Privacy

WPF Video Series: Health Information Exchanges and Your Privacy, video 1. HIE stands for “Health Information Exchange.” An HIE allows medical records to be shared electronically between health care providers. Watch video ….

Today, health insurers Blue Shield of California and Anthem Blue Cross announced the creation of a statewide database of patient medical records in California called Cal INDEX. When it launches later this year, it will be the country’s largest health information exchange, or HIE. The exchange is set to disseminate patient’s longitudinal medical files, and

This interactive map shows in one glance the medical data breaches in the U.S. that have been reported to the U.S. government from 2009-2012. Each blue dot represents one breach. The bigger the dot, the bigger the breach. To see the detailed information about where, when, and how the breach happened, mouse over the dots, or zoom in by state.

This Jan. 30, 2014 report discusses a new right to restrict disclosure of health information under the updated HIPAA health privacy rule. The new provision called “Pay Out of Pocket,” also called the “Right to Restrict Disclosure” gives patients the right to request that their health care provider not report or disclose their information to their health plans when they pay for medical services in full. Navigating the new right will take effort and planning for patients to utilize effectively. This substance of this report is about the new patient right to restrict disclosure, and how patients can use it to protect health privacy.

January 15, 2014: Pam Dixon will be talking about how some health kiosks that measure blood pressure turn around and share lead information from the consumers using the kiosks with insurance companies. Tune in to NPR’s All Things Considered to hear Pam Dixon discuss the privacy risks of health kiosks in supermarkets and drug stores.