Paranoia over Privacy
In the fall of 2002, I entered unfamiliar territory. Diagnosed with peripheral neuropathy from primary amyloidosis at age 52, I became a patient. I put my affairs in order, obtained coverage for my busy practice in Anchorage, Alaska, and headed to New York City for an autologous stem-cell transplantation. I was aware that I could not expect a cure, but was hopeful that there was a chance for remission.
As I entered this new world, I had many decisions to make. I wanted to be a good patient, having spent over 20 years observing my own patients deal with adversity. I also decided to share my experiences with those impacted by my illness, including my colleagues, patients, and friends, thinking that this could be beneficial to them. But I was not prepared for the intricate set of privacy rules currently implemented as part of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). I fear that unless modified, this brave new world may do more harm than good.
The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act arose from a good intention—to encourage portability of health insurance. But it has also given us privacy rules that have led to reams of paperwork, huge expenses in software and legal advice, and a decline in the ability of physicians to interact with the patients they care for. As a physician, I already felt that HIPAA privacy rules were misguided and overly complex. Doctors respected the privacy of patients before HIPAA. In addition, it seemed clear to me that the severity of the penalties attached to HIPAA violations would make most physicians and medical institutions overreact in the implementation of …
This 100-word excerpt has been provided in the absence of an abstract.
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