Group discourages far-reaching patient data use consents

While it may make health organizations feel better, it's not a good idea to ask patients to offer blanket consents for many levels of health data disclosure according to a new report by the Health Privacy Project of the Center for Democracy and Technology. Instead of building a health data sharing infrastructure by asking patients to give permission for all data uses, the group says, consumers are better served by a more tightly-controlled system. Health data sharing infrastructures should include audit trails, technical safeguards and systematic enforcement in addition to getting consent for data sharing and giving notice of where the data will go. To date, they warn, much of the discussion around sharing patient data has positioned privacy as an 'obstacle,' "but it's clear the opposite is true," says Deven McGraw of the CDT's Health Privacy Project. "Enhanced privacy and security...will bolster consumer trust and confidence and spur a more rapid adoption of health IT."

To learn more about the report:
- read this Healthcare IT News article

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