| Summary: | Loss of personal privacy was the first or second concern listed of 29% of the respondents to a survey conducted by the Wall Street Journal and ABC.Computerization was seen as the most serious threat to medical privacy by 54% of surveyed adults.The 1996 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) called for protections and privacy of medical information including 'any information whether oral or recorded in any form or medium, that is created or received by a health care provider, health plan, public health authority, employer, life insurer, school or university, or health clearing house.'After receiving requested comments from the public, the five following principles were identified: consumer control, accountability, public responsibility, boundaries, and security.While the proposed rules have yet to be formally put into law, the author suggests that forward-thinking institutions would be wise to anticipate enactment of the HIPPA regulations by putting mechanisms and accountabilities in place to protect patients' privacy now.
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