Copyright 1999 Boston Herald Inc.
The Boston Herald
May 14, 1999 Friday THIRD EDITION
SECTION: FINANCE; Pg. 033
LENGTH: 346 words
HEADLINE:
Bill bolsters medical information privacy
BYLINE: By JENNIFER HELDT POWELL
BODY:
Dr. Charles Welch wasn't surprised when a
lawyer brought up Welch's medical history during an interview about an unrelated
issue.
"It happens all the time," he said. "Once (your history) leaves
your doctor's office, it's a commodity - it can be bought or sold." Insurance
companies require patients to give them access to their records, but there are
no laws to keep others - including employers and marketers - from also getting
their hands on them.
That would change with a proposal heard yesterday
by the joint Senate and House Health Care Committee.
"Privacy of medical
records is not just a right, it's a necessary for good health," Welch said,
testifying for the Massachusetts Medical Society.
The bill would require
the patient's informed consent before any information that includes a patient
identity is released or used. It would also require a record of anyone who had
access to a patient's medical file.
Patients who fear their medical
records will be shared with others may not go to a doctor or may withhold
information that's vital to treatments, said advocates of the proposal.
"A visit to your doctor's office should not be like a job interview,"
Daniel A. Grabauskas, state consumer affairs director, told the committee.
"Neither the patient nor the doctor gains when patients provide only
estimable information while withholding crucial but embarrassing or
incriminating information."
Under the proposal, patients would have the
right to copy, amend or add to their own medical records.
Patient
records could be used for research only if they are provided without identifying
the patient. Identifiable information could only be used for research that meets
strict criteria, such as a public health need.
Doctors would assume the
bulk of the responsibility for carrying out the new law. They would have to
educate their patients, set up approval procedures and take on increased legal
liability.
There would be civil and criminal penalties for violations.
Critics of the bill included the pharmaceutical and life insurance
industries.
LOAD-DATE: May 15, 1999
