Whenever the subject of healthcare privacy catches the national spotlight, you can bet that it will soon be followed by a debate about whether or not it’s safe for people to actively participate in their own healthcare through the use of EHRs, clinical summaries and health information exchanges.
While there have been security breaches in the past, it’s very important that Americans have all of the facts. There are, unfortunately, people in the world who are going to try to illegally obtain and misuse private health information, and I agree that we need to be vigilant and proactive in incorporating and reinforcing the highest security measures. I believe Office for Civil Rights Director Georgina Verdugo’s new plan can make a difference if she and her department follow through with enforcement.
We shouldn’t allow overreactions to misperceived weaknesses in EHR security to thwart progress. It’s too important for the healthcare system and, ultimately, the American economy. It becomes a matter of what’s more dangerous: the potential misuse of information or simply not using information at all? Is the privacy of an overwhelming minority of people more important than safer, more efficient, more affordable and potentially life-saving healthcare for the overwhelming majority?
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Frankly, only the highest-profile members of society (celebrities, athletes, etc.) stand to actually be negatively impacted by an unlikely EHR privacy breach. With that in mind, the question of whether we value the privacy of information more than its potential to help us lead healthier lives takes on a much more compelling perspective.
Without question, we must make ensuring privacy a top priority in any plans to implement EHRs. I’m confident that we as an industry can do so and, in fact, I think the OCR’s stronger controls are on the right track. No EHR is going to come with guaranteed safety, but I would argue that the risk level is the same or less than that associated with online retail and banking transactions. The public needs to understand this.
It is up to those of us in the industry to ensure that the facts are clear and readily available. Hopefully, the media will choose to report all — not some — of them so that Americans can form opinions based on complete information.
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Eric Demers is senior vice president of health and life science at MEDecision, a provider of collaborative healthcare management solutions.
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