Patient Privacy in the Era of Health Information Technology:
Overview of the Issues

About this Paper:

Congress is poised to include some $20 billion for health information technology in the pending economic stimulus package. While sharing patient data electronically has the potential to improve health care quality and save money, it also raises significant concerns about patient privacy.

"No one thinks existing HIPAA privacy rules are fine the way they are, but there is disagreement on what the problems are and how to fix them," observes Phyllis C. Borzi, JD, MA, research professor at the School of Public Health and Health Services at The George Washington University. "Many consumer groups and patient advocates say the rules are way too lax. The industry people say they are barriers to creating effective health information systems and need to be loosened."

The Privacy Rule implemented under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) provides the only national legal standard for protecting the use of health information. This paper reviews the scope of that law, the proposed privacy requirements in the stimulus legislation, and the perspectives of industry and consumer groups on electronic health information privacy.

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For more information about the issues raised in this paper, contact:
Phyllis C. Borzi, JD, MA, Research Professor
Department of Health Policy
School of Public Health and Health Services
The George Washington University
2021 K Street, N.W., Suite 800
Washington, DC 20006
(202) 530-2312
borziph@gwu.edu