Monday, February 5, 2007

Senator, witnesses say health IT office is dropping ball on privacy "I fear that HHS is not acting fast enough" to build privacy and security into the emerging Nationwide Health Information Network, Akaka said. The senator's position was bolstered by testimony from Mark Rothstein, director of the Institute for Bioethics, Health Policy and Law at the University of Louisville School of Medicine in Louisville, Kentucky. In Kolodner's office, "the focus on privacy is currently lagging behind" work on technical issues such as network architectures, Rothstein testified. And Carol Diamond, managing director of the Markle Foundation's health programs, said privacy and security policies should be finalized before technology is developed. "If technology is developed in advance of, or in the absence of, the relevant policy framework, our nation runs the risk of inappropriate uses of personal information followed by a public clamor for hasty remedies," Diamond said. "In those circumstances, we may find ourselves retrofitting complex technologies at great costs....This unnecessary cycle will undermine the sustainability of a health information sharing network." 3:23:12 PM

Research Reveals Data Loss Still Major Threat Despite Increased Corporate Efforts. Research Reveals Data Loss Still Major Threat Despite Increased Corporate Efforts. Focus on threat of outside attacks overlooks danger employee behavior. [GT: Security and Privacy] 3:13:18 PM

GAO questions HHS efforts to secure electronic health records. GAO questions HHS efforts to secure electronic health records. The Government Accountability Office is calling on the Department of Health and Human Services to come up with a plan to protect the security of health data exchanged electronically. HHS said it's already doing so. [Computerworld Privacy News] 3:03:33 PM

More States Challenging National Driver's Licenses. More States Challenging National Driver's Licenses. berberine writes  "A revolt against a national driver's license, begun in Maine last month, is quickly spreading to other states. The Maine Legislature on Jan. 26 overwhelmingly passed a resolution objecting to the Real ID Act of 2005. The federal law sets a national standard for driver's licenses and requires states to link their record-keeping systems to national databases. Within a week of Maine's action, lawmakers in Georgia, Wyoming, Montana, New Mexico, Vermont and Washington state also balked at Real ID. They are expected soon to pass laws or adopt resolutions declining to participate in the federal identification network. Maine's rejection was recently discussed on slashdot."  [Slashdot: Your Rights Online] 2:22:19 PM

© Copyright 2007 Paul Hardwick. Last update: 3/4/07; 11:14:50 AM.