Today, March 11, 2008, the Center for Democracy & Technology ("CDT") announced the launch of a major project to develop and promote privacy policy solutions for personal health information. To fulfill an ambitious agenda CDT is joining forces with the Health Privacy Project.
It is widely recognized that developments in health information technology (HIT) have the potential to improve health care quality, reduce costs and empower consumers to play a greater role in their own care. However, little progress has been made on resolving the privacy issues associated with the growing liquidity of personally identifiable health information.(1)
CDT's Health Privacy Project will take on key policy questions, including: the proper role of notice and consent, the right of patients to access their own health records in electronic formats, identification and authentication, secondary uses, and enforcement mechanisms. It will address both the traditional exchange of records among providers and payers, as well as new consumer access services and Personal Health Records.
Deven McGraw, new director of the Health Privacy Project stated that:
This is a critical time for health information privacy. Technologies are being deployed and systems are being designed that will have a far-reaching impact on how personal health information is accessed, stored, and shared. Consumers want the benefits of HIT-enabled healthcare and they want assurances that their privacy will be protected. We can and must move forward on both fronts....
One of our first priorities is to analyze and respond to the HIT-related bills pending before Congress. These bills offer an opportunity to take some critical first steps in improving health information privacy. Then we will work over the next year to develop and build support for a more comprehensive set of policy proposals that address the complex reality of integrating information technology into healthcare.
In "Beyond Consumer Consent: Why We Need a comprehensive Approach to Privacy in a Networked World" CDT describes the (2) ,
Core Privacy Principles-- derived from Fair Information Practices:
openness and transparency,
purposes specification and minimization,
collection limitation,
use limitation,
individual participation and control,
data integrity and quality,
security safeguards and controls,
accountability and oversight,
remedies.
Visitors to the CDT website can sign up for many thoughtful and timely +email alerts.(3)
(1) http://www.cdt.org/press/20080311press.php
(2) http://cdt.org/healthprivacy/20080221consentbrief.pdf
(3) http://www.cdt.org/
The Center for Democracy & Technology is a non-profit public interest organization working to keep the Internet open, innovative, and free. With expertise in law, technology, and policy, CDT seeks practical solutions to enhance free expression and privacy in communications technologies. CDT is dedicated to building consensus among all parties interested in the future of the Internet and other new communications media.