ONC Releases Whitepaper on Consumer Consent Options for Electronic Health Information Exchange
Emailed from ONC on March 24, 2010
“The whitepaper examines issues regarding whether, to what extent, and how individuals should have the ability to exercise control over their health information in an electronic health information exchange environment. It looks at existing approaches and details policy options, considerations, and analysis. This whitepaper will serve as input to, and be reviewed by, the HIT Policy Committee’s Privacy and Security Workgroup as it prepares to make recommendations related to consumer consent in an electronic health information exchange environment. The whitepaper is the first in a series of privacy and security reports developed by George Washington University under contract with ONC.”
Privacy and Security Whitepaper Series
Consumer Consent Options for Electronic Health Information Exchange: Policy Considerations and Analysis
Privacy and Security and Health Information Technology
Excerpted from ONC on March 24, 2010.
“Electronic health information exchange promises an array of potential benefits for individuals and the U.S. health care system through improved clinical care and reduced cost. At the same time, this environment also poses new challenges and opportunities for protecting individually identifiable health information. In health care, accurate and complete information about individuals is critical to providing high quality, coordinated care. If individuals and other participants in a network lack trust in electronic exchange of information due to perceived or actual risks to individually identifiable health information or the accuracy and completeness of such information, it may affect their willingness to disclose necessary health information and could have life-threatening consequences. Coordinated attention at the Federal and State levels is needed both to develop and implement appropriate privacy and security policies. Only by engaging all stakeholders, particularly consumers, can health information be protected and electronically exchanged in a manner that respects variations in individuals’ views on privacy and access.”
(The section above labelled “Privacy and Security Whitepaper Series” contains the links to the first White Paper. ONC shared additional resources shown below.)
Other Resources
- February 2010: Summary of Selected Federal Laws and Regulations Addressing Confidentiality, Privacy and Security [PDF – 158 KB]
- December 2008: The Nationwide Privacy and Security Framework for Electronic Exchange of Individually Identifiable Health Information
- Health IT and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy and Security Rules
- State-level Privacy and Security Resources
- Draft Model Personal Health Record (PHR) Privacy Notice & Facts-At-A-Glance
- Medical Identity Theft
- Federal Laws and Regulations
- HHS announces Privacy and Security Framework and Toolkit
