June 29, 1999
Future Bleak for Medical Records Privacy
The very bill designed to assure medical health record privacy will destroy patient confidentiality if the Senate passes it without modification, according to James C. Pyles, an expert on privacy rights representing the American Psychoanalytic Association.
While the bill before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (HELP) purports to recognize the right to confidentiality, it essentially eliminates that right by forcing patients to grant insurance companies virtually unlimited access to sensitive health information in order to obtain coverage and receive treatment. "That's not consent, that's submission," says Pyles. " What's at stake is that legislators seem to be unaware of the consequences at hand."
Patients who refuse to give "blanket consent" to their health care insurers risk termination of their coverage and health care service, adds Dr. Leon Hoffman of the American Psychoanalytic Association. "What's more, says Dr. Hoffman, "the bill pending Senate approval threatens access to quality mental health care by destroying the patient's confidence and the privacy of patient/therapist communications.
Pyles and Hoffman are available for further comment about the pending medical records legislation. To reach Jim Pyles, call 202-466-6550 or email [email protected].
To reach Dr. Hoffman, call, 212/249-1163 or [email protected].
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