[Politech] Stephen Cobb on failure of HIPAA health privacy law [priv]

From: Declan McCullagh (declan@private)
Date: Mon Apr 19 2004 - 20:22:37 PDT

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    -------- Original Message --------
    Subject: Re: [Politech] Have Feds' HIPAA health privacy rules helped? 
    [priv]
    Date: Thu, 15 Apr 2004 13:04:58 -0400
    From: Stephen Cobb <editor@private>
    To: Declan McCullagh <declan@private>
    References: <407CD237.3020003@private>
    
    Declan
    
    Sadly, I must second Jim's opinion. Despite a lot of hard work by
    well-intentioned people in hospitals and doctors' offices, medical privacy
    is getting worse, not better. HIPAA's law enforcement loophole alone has
    emboldened politicians seeking to peer into our private lives. For example,
    the Florida legislature is about to authorize, at the urging of Governor
    Bush, a central database to track prescription medications taken by 
    Floridians.
    
    The inevitable effect will be to make it even harder than it already is for
    people suffering severe pain and other problems to get adequate treatment.
    
    Stephen Cobb
    Author: Privacy for Business
    
    "Throw down the Xanax and come out with your hands up."
    -- From an episode of "Cops" filmed in Florida, 2005
    
    At 4/14/2004 01:55 AM, you wrote:
    >-------- Original Message --------
    >Subject: HIPAA Privacy One Year Later: Prognosis . . . Negative!
    >Date: Wed, 14 Apr 2004 00:53:48 -0400
    >From: Jim Harper - Privacilla.org <jim.harper@private>
    >
    >"If anything, health privacy has receded in the past year," said Jim Harper,
    >Editor of Privacilla.org. "Federal regulators stepped into a bad situation
    >and made it worse. Consumers today have even fewer privacy-protecting
    >options and far less confidence in the privacy of their health information
    >and health decisions."
    
    
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