Consumer Reports: Electronic Medical Records Have Potential for Misuse; Photo Available

Summary

---

YONKERS, N.Y., Feb. 6 /U.S. Newswire/ -- An investigation in the March 2006 issue of Consumer Reports magazine has found that a national system of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) being developed by the federal government, states, HMOs, and PPOs to link the medical records of every American has potential for abuse. The Consumer Reports article found that while such electronic medical records systems could save lives and billions of dollars in health- care spending, it may also jeopardize the security of personal health care information.

Those potential benefits have spurred many state government agencies, hospital chains, and health-care providers to develop their own electronic records systems. But troubling questions come with the promises: How will the system be safeguarded from marketers, fund-raisers, or potential employers? Could computer hackers release the information onto the Internet for everyone to see? How will patients be able to control access to or find out who has viewed their medical records?

See the full content of this document

Extract

---

Consumer Reports: Electronic Medical Records Have Potential for Misuse; Photo Available

Consumer Reports found that in absence of safeguards, marketers could use electronic medical records to sell patients new drugs to treat their illnesses; fund-raisers could target those newly diagnosed of a disease and encourage them to contribute to their cause. L...

See the full content of this document

---