AHIMA demands better PHR privacy protections

PHRs are not electronic medical records, exactly--and as some people see it, that's exactly the problem. While EMRs enjoy the same HIPAA protection as paper records do, PHRs don't. AHIMA president Bryon Pickard told Congress that's just wrong. And even if laws in a specific state do target PHRs, when consumers and providers are in different states, the tougher state laws may not apply. As a result, AHIMA would like to see Congress enact uniform laws to cover the use or transmission of personal health information. In particular, AHIMA would like to bar health plans from helping themselves to PHR data whenever they'd like. "The first word in PHR is 'personal' and it makes sense that the individual provide an additional authorization for any access or use of this PHR record set outside of the individual's own use," Pickard said.

To find out more about AHIMA's proposals:
- read this Health Data Management article
- read Pickard's testimony (.pdf)

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