Federal privacy panel leader resigns, raps standards

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Malin, Bradley A" <b.malin () Vanderbilt Edu>
Date: February 23, 2007 11:05:51 AM EST
To: dave () farber net
Subject: Federal privacy panel leader resigns, raps standards

Dave, this is yet another blow to the development of a national  
health information infrastructure.

-brad


http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=6553

Federal privacy panel leader resigns, raps standards
Healthcare IT News
By Diana Manos, Senior Editor
02/22/07

WASHINGTON - The leader of a federal panel charged with providing  
privacy recommendations for the national health information network  
resigned Wednesday, thwarted, he said, in efforts to develop adequate  
standards.

The resignation comes amid complaints from others about the speed  
with which standards are being written.


Paul Feldman, deputy director of the nonprofit Health Privacy  
Project, stepped down from his position as co-chair of the American  
Health Information Community's Confidentiality, Privacy, and Security  
Workgroup, created in May 2006.

In a letter sent Wednesday to 15 members of Congress, Department of  
Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt and HHS Interim  
National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Robert  
Kolodner, Feldman said the workgroup's efforts to establish standards  
for the nation's developing healthcare IT network, are "a far cry  
from a comprehensive and timely approach that would give privacy  
policy equal and necessary footing with interoperability and systems  
development efforts."

Janlori Goldman, director of the Health Privacy Project, also signed  
the letter.

"We already know that the majority of people in this country fear  
that their health information is more prone to misuse in electronic  
form," Feldman said. "We must not shirk our duty to protect them from  
such harm."

<snip>


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