Re: Be afraid, be very afraid Health Info

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: DV Henkel-Wallace <gumby () henkel-wallace org>
Date: April 5, 2009 1:04:49 AM EDT
To: David Farber <dave () farber net>, Steve Lamont <spl () ncmir ucsd edu>
Subject: Re: [IP] Re:   Be afraid, be very afraid Health Info

I have HIPPA training (though there are varying levels of "trained"  
and mine is at the bottom, or simplest).  Although the heartland  
institute's prognosis was over the top it was not as far off the  
likely mark as one might like to think.

First of all it does seem like most people I was exposed to were  
pretty serious about the privacy issue.  But the fines, as noted,  
aren't really large by prosecutorial standards and there are  
prohibited behaviors which have no punishment at all.  I.e. don't do  
this but if caught don't worry about it.  Examples appeared on the IP  
list when HIPPA was first proposed.

Second of all we've all seen the kind of database scope creep that  
comes with systems not designed with privacy in from the get go.  Cell  
tower and toll data is now routinely used in criminal and civil  
cases.  CC records too.  Why not health data?  You can be sure it will  
happen.

And the risk of catastrophic (to the victims) loss due to data being  
hoisted by a malicious group of employees is high but largely ignored  
in system design and in legislation.

In short: _don't_ turn the page in this case.  (however I agree with  
your attitude to the H.I. in most cases).

-d

> From: Steve Lamont <spl () ncmir ucsd edu>
> Date: April 4, 2009 9:47:06 AM EDT
> To: dave () farber net
> Subject: Re: [IP] Be afraid, be very afraid Health Info
>
> > April 2, 2009 (Network World) Maureen Martin of The Heartland
> > Institute, a think tank promoting public policy based on individual
> > liberty, limited government and free markets, argues that the new
> > Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health  
> > (HITECH)
> > Act exposes too much personal information.
>
> Heartland Institute is also very much in the forefront of the climate
> change (aka global warming) denial movement, and is funded by numerous
> extremely conservative foundations, such as the Scaife Foundations,
> which also funded the highly corrosive "Arkansas Project" durning the
> Clinton administration, the John M Olin Foundation, and Walton Family
> Foundation.  It was funded by ExxonMobil between 1998 and 2005,
> according to Source Watch.
>
> http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Heartland_Institute
>
> When Heartland speaks, I generally turn the page.





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