mental health

SPOTLIGHT: Balancing privacy, access to behavioral health info

Mon, 14 Apr 2008 06:59:52 -0400

When providers deal in mental health information, they face a particularly delicate balancing act. On one hand, it could prove important for a medical provider to know about mental health or substance abuse issues. However, sharing such information still comes with significant risk, according to the California Health Care Foundation. Article

Federal bill would create HIT 'trusts'

Mon, 16 Jul 2007 06:59:58 -0400

A Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives has introduced a bill to create a national health information technology network. The model relies on a concept known as a "trust," under which intermediaries would manage the security, privacy and confidentiality of health information, rather than providers or government agencies. The bill has 35 sponsors representing both Republicans and Democrats. Under the terms of the bill, patients would not only own their records, but would have the ability to restrict who seems them; for example, they could block their cardiologist from seeing their mental health history. Physicians and providers would have a limited opportunity to earn more from transactions paid for and authorized by the patient.

A number of independent organizations are backing the bill, too, including the Progressive Policy Institute, Patient Safety Institute and the group Patient Privacy Rights, which has been particularly vocal on the subject of patient control of medical records. Interestingly, the bill is also backed by EMR giant Cerner, which says the bill will give patients more control over their healthcare.

To find out more about the bill:
- read this Healthcare IT News article

Related Article:
The benefits of health record banking. Report
Outlining EMR banking options. Editorial

VA to link genetic info to medical records

Sun, 07 Jan 2007 19:01:37 -0500

Given how often the Department of Veterans Affairs plays the role of healthcare IT vanguard, it should come as no surprise that the department will be among the first to combine electronic health records (EHRs) with genetic data. As the VA has had an EHR system in place for years now, the department is the ideal candidate for testing this kind of advanced functionality. On a voluntary basis, veterans can have their genetic information added to their health record, where it will be linked with their medical history. The Department, which launched a pilot program late last year, hopes that linking genetic data to EHRs will help illuminate previously unknown linkages between genetic variations and environmental factors. While the program is completely voluntary, the use of genetic data in health records still raises all sorts of privacy and security questions, not to mention moral and ethical ones. The American Health Information Community, a group founded by President George W. Bush, has discussed the matter of patients' genetic information being used in health records, though they have yet to draft any firm policies on the matter.

For more on the VA's new program:
- see this eWeek article

Related Articles:
VA loses track of $300M in mental health funds. Report
VA pledges better data security. Report

SPOTLIGHT: Managing health data during lawsuits

Sun, 26 Nov 2006 19:01:32 -0500

With recent changes to federal rules governing civil suits, health IT pros may need to change how they manage, retain and disclose health information. Prior to beginning the process of disclosing health information to opposing parties in a lawsuit, health IT execs must meet with attorneys and senior managers to decide in advance how they'll handle information requests. If they plan to assert protections for privileged health data categories such as HIV and mental health, they must do so in advance. If data is costly to obtain, they'll need to be able to prove that to the court. IT professionals must also be sure that relevant data isn't destroyed, particularly if the court orders it preserved, so special plans may be required to assure data preservation. While developing policies and procedures in this area may be complex, you must make sure your organization doesn't appear to be obstructing the legal process. Article