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August 05, 2009
Privacy advocates say Obama's health IT efforts may lessen information security
The Wall Street Journal (8/4, A6, Worthen) reports, "The government is committing billions of dollars for technology systems that help healthcare providers share information," but lawmakers have yet to propose "mechanisms for how the data will be protected."
As a result, "many privacy advocates are concerned the administration's effort could end up making health information less secure" amid soaring numbers of "reported data breaches at healthcare organizations" in recent years.
In fact, "health organizations publicly disclosed 97 data breaches in 2008, up from 64 in 2007, which was more than the breaches publicly reported by financial institutions, according to the nonprofit Identity Theft Resource Center."
Critics note, however, that even if the government "ultimately requires healthcare organizations to use systems that can encrypt data and have other security functions...making sure people use all of these features is more important."
Related Links:
- "New Epidemic Fears: Hackers," Ben worthen, Wall Street Journal, August 4, 2009.
Posted by admin at August 5, 2009 02:48 PM