Home Forums Discussions General Discussion CNY ACLU & Electronic Medical Records Privacy

Hey Folks,
I just got off the phone with this very nice and informed women. Her name is Barrie Gewanter and she is the local director here at the local CNY Chapter of the ACLU. She is one of their two national experts on HIPAA and the Patriot Act. She and I had a great conversation and we discussed a number of health information privacy issues and where she personally as well as where the local and national organizations stand.

She wants me to help her facilitate a dialog between the healthcare community here in CNY and elsewhere, on the issues of medical privacy, the regisitries, CCHITT and other related subjects. We briefly touched on issues such as ASP model software vendors and other such forced control of access to our patients data as well. Her interest is certainly peaked and I think we have all found a new avenue for many of our concerns.

I am posting a link here for all to connect to the national website where there is a ton of interesting stuff about these matters that are a concern to us all. In the long run I still feel that the main way to defeat or at least control CCHITT like laws and standards is to fight them based on civil liberties, which is a great and wonderful thing to defend and uphold anyway. So at least we will be doing something truely meaningful and worthwhile for us, our children and our children's children.

I know that this organization has gain themselves a bum rap as of late, but most of what they do is really good and has consitutional protections of us all as the basic of how and why they proceed on any given matter. But heck even I don't agree with them on everything. Open boarders advocacy is one that comes to mind that I don't personally support or agree with.

But one has to remember certain cases like the right of the Nazi party to conduct and hold a ralley and march in a mainly Jewish community in Illonis. As many of you know I am Jewish myself, but I totally supported their legal defense of this case. No matter how offensive a person's speech may be, no matter how much it is distasteful and even "crazy" or worse, we need to protect the rights of all to free speech. And so thru grit teeth my family and I supported them in this matter back then. For sure it is tough sometimes, but this is what it truely means to live in a free country and a democracy.

So give these guys half a chance and check out the links here. I think we have found a new set of friends here. Let me know what you all think....

http://www.aclu.org/privacy/medical/35657lgl20080613.html

http://www.cnyclu.org/aboutusmain.htm

Paul

What might work against us is some of the time safeguards built into CCHITT. This would support autolock of the program after 10-15 minutes, which is built into the regulations. Another regulation would require changing passwords every 90 days. Hassles that few of us would like to endure.

On the plus side, it could be argued that the ability of companies to log into our data could create a breach that could be exploited.

On the broader conceptual scale, I have no quarrels with the position paper.

The forced changing of passwords every X days is a pox on the earth.

Writing down lots of new passwords is worse than having one really good password that you protect with your life. I have two passwords I try to use with almost everything. The one here is my lower security one, since what is here to be stolen?

Then for my more security based accounts I have a second one that is both letters and numbers (always recommended) and you would really have to know me and some of my more bizarre interests to even try and guess at it.

I feel that having only one really good password that I don't have to speak out loud, write down anywhere or other wise use any system to remember it, that is probably better security than all these offices around the country that because they force you to change the password every 90 days, everyone in the office tends to have a list of passwords posted right near the computer. Real secure there. Now the cleaning lady can log into your on-line banking account or look up patient demographics at UHC or what have you. You are correct they are a pox...

FYI: If CCHIT passes all the way and we are all required to buy a CCHIT certified EMR, Kiss our EMR of first choice good-bye. And again between the big bloated can't use it, can't chart a simple encounter from begining to end, big price tag, that Al rails against and Vinny can tell you about from personal experience, to the violation of all of our and our patients' rights of medical privacy, CCHIT is now my mortal enemy.

It is the violations of all of our privaies that really has my goat. Screw George and Dick, and their facsist warrentless search goose stepping federal agencys, this is still America and this is an issue that should offend each and every citizen. It should easily unite us with our everyday patients. This is the topic that should offend any and all of us. It certainly offends me and Nancy, doesn't it offend you? Hey, it's almost Independence Day, doens't this kind of CCHIT and all King George's basic stance of all civil liberties issues just knaw at your stomach and kind make you feel ill???

But hey, when we were kids, we used to play loud obnoxious original social political hard rock in a band named "U$ $TEAL". I had the best and sexiest bass player in NYC. And yes there really were dollars signs in both the S's...

Suggestion: Please read and post the Q&A portion about medical privacy. I just printed it and put it in protective plastic sleeves to leave in the waiting room for our patients to read. The thing should make your stomach and head swirl.

Same idea. I suggested this to everyone at IMP Camp and it seems that most of them are going to do this and I would love to see most of you do it to. It is not my idea. There is a Doc who already has his own website and blog and he has dropped all insurance. Anyway, on his website he has posted one of the quarterly reports of like UHC and Aetna I believe. It is just insane the amount of money these guys collect, give to their friends and corporate officers and share holders and never return to healthcare for patients or docs. So go to investor relations side of the carriers website where they proudly post such things and post those reports in your waiting room for all to see and read. Just let the facts do the talking. Again it should make you ill when you start seeing all the money that we never see for care or services while these little piggies are swimming in it....