Medical privacy — The World Privacy Forum testified before the National Committee on Vital Health Statistics in August regarding the importance of patient choice in the area of Electronic Health Records. The testimony stressed the importance of building security, patient privacy, and choice into EHRs and any form of the proposed National Health Information Network (NHIN).

The World Privacy Forum has been particularly interested in developments related to EHRs and the NHIN. Given the impetus of the 2004 Executive Order [1] mandating forward movement in these areas, and the broad impact digitized medical records will potentially have on patients and on the healthcare sector, the World Privacy Forum believes that the decisions this Committee and others shaping these efforts arrive at will be of lasting importance. Given the transition of many parts of our society from analog to digital, it is crucial to ask what this digitization will look like and to carefully examine and discuss what form EHRs and related systems should take in regards to patient choice, privacy, and security.

The Federal Trade Commission has taken action on the hundreds of imposter domains the World Privacy Forum uncovered and discussed in its Call Don’t Click I and II reports. Announcing the FTC action, Bureau Chief Lydia Parnes said: “Consumers also need to be alert about impostor sites – sites that misspell annualcreditreport.com or use sound

Telemarketing — In official comments filed with the Federal Communications Commission, the World Privacy Forum urged the Commission to maintain state telemarketing regulations.

In comments filed with the Federal Communications Commission, the World Privacy Forum urged the Commission to maintain state telemarketing regulations.