AFFIRMATIVE — MEDICAL — IMPACTS 220

LACK OF MEDICAL PRIVACY DAMAGES MEDICAL CARE

CONFIDENTIALITY IS ESSENTIAL FOR GOOD MEDICAL CARE

THE BALTIMORE SUN, November 8, 1999, SECTION: EDITORIAL ,10A TITLE: Taking steps to curb health record // acs-EE2001

Physicians are among the strongest supporters of strengthening medical records privacy, noting that confidentiality is the basis of effective treatment. Medical groups are arguing for tougher protections, while warning that some data sharing can improve patient treatment.

FEAR OF LOSS OF MEDICAL PRIVACY CRIPPLES EFFECTIVE MEDICAL CARE

Sarah Kellogg THE BALTIMORE SUN, June 27, 1999, SECTION: PERSPECTIVE ,5C TITLE: Nation debates need for medical privacy // acs-VT2001

Many fear that wary patients might have taken steps to protect their health information by not being completely honest with doctors.

"The consequences of people not fully participating in their own care are quite troubling for individual patients as well as the larger community," Chris Koyanagi, director of legislative policy for the Consumer Coalition for Health Privacy, a national coalition of consumer, disability and patients' rights groups, told a Senate committee.

"Incomplete or inaccurate information can hamper a doctor's ability to accurately diagnose and treat a patient, placing a person at risk for undetected and untreated conditions," said Koyanagi.

LOSS OF PRIVACY WILL SEVERELY DAMAGE MEDICAL PRACTICE

Julie Appleby, USA TODAY, March 23, 2000, SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 1A TITLE: File safe? Health records may not be confidential // acs-VT2001

The threat to privacy strikes at the heart of medicine.

"Confidentiality of communication within the doctor-patient relationship is one of the cornerstones of good medical care," says Donald Palmisano, co-chair of the American Medical Association's task force on medical privacy.

Without confidentiality, patients are reluctant to tell doctors what they need to know. The California Health Care Foundation noted that one out of six people surveyed last year took some kind of action to prevent misuse of health information -- including lying to their doctors, paying out of their own pockets for care covered by insurance or avoiding medical care altogether.