Do You Know Where Your Medical Data Is?

The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.

The federal government is giving money to doctors and hospitals to computerize their medical records ( “EMR” = electronic medical records). To get paid the medical providers have to show “meaningful use” of EMR by, among other things, writing and sending a certain percentage of their prescriptions to pharmacies by computer , by creating interactive websites (“Patient Portals”) to improve patient access to their medical information , and by entering much more of their patient’s personal data into their computers. The improved coordination of care, collaboration of medical providers, and reduced costs of care through the meaningful use of EMR by Accountable Care Organizations (ACO) is a cherished hope of Obamacare (ACA) supporters.

Recently, another arm of the federal government (NSA = National Security Agency) has been shown to be collecting, and maybe analyzing, huge reams of personal data from our telephones, social network sites, and credit card companies. Facebook, Google, and Verizon have all been put on the defensive and are scrambling to show that they weren’t helping, at least “knowingly helping”, the government do this. Wired magazine recently reviewed how this conflict between the government's promises of security and the internet giants' promises of privacy is eroding the public trust in both.

So at a time that our government is aggressively incentivizing medical providers to put more and more patients’ personal data into cyberspace, the public’s faith and trust that such data will be safe and not be misused is weakening.

What’s the worry? How bad could it get? Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I direct you to this 3 minute video on how to order a pizza in 2015. Whether you find it believable or not,  or whether you think that 2025 is a more realistic date, you may rest assured that the NSA will know that you clicked on and viewed it.

Reference:
1. “How the NSA Almost Killed the Internet”, Wired, January 2014
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2DY6jWT2a4  "How to Order a Pizza in 2015"