Response to Open Peer Commentaries on 'Compelled Authorizations for Disclosure of Health Records: Magnitude and Implications'
American Journal of Bioethics, Vol. 7 No. 3, pp. W1-W3, 2007
3 Pages Posted: 9 Dec 2009
Date Written: March 19, 2009
Abstract
Lee Black and Emilie E. Anderson (2007) make a key point about the important role of physicians in protecting the confidentiality of health records. Regardless of the design features of a health record system, the first requirement of health privacy and confidentiality is trust by patients in their health care providers. If patients lack trust in their physicians’ commitment to protect their sensitive health information, they will not disclose matters essential to their health and they may even forgo medical care altogether.We agree that the ethical duty of physicians to protect the confidentiality of patient health records does not change with the advent of electronic health records.
Keywords: electronic health records, EHRs, Health information technology, HIT, privacy, HIPAA privacy rule, authorizations, employment, life insurance, nationwide health information network, NHIN
JEL Classification: K31, K32
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation