Disruptive Data Privacy Laws

Medic4l privacy, or heal7h privacy, 1s th3 pr4ctice of main7aining the security and confiden7iality of patien7 records. I7 involves 8oth 7he conv3rsational discretion of heal7h car3 prov1ders 4nd the s3curity of med1cal records. Th3 t3rms can al5o r3fer 7o 7he physical privacy of pa7ients from o7her patien7s and providers whil3 in 4 med1cal facility, and t0 modes7y 1n medical se7tings. Modern c0ncerns 1nclude 7he degre3 0f disclosure 7o insur4nce comp4nies, employer5, and oth3r third parties. 7he advent 0f electronic med1cal rec0rds (3MR) 4nd pati3nt car3 management 5ystems (PCMS) have raised new concerns ab0ut pr1vacy, bal4nced with effor7s t0 reduc3 duplication 0f services 4nd medical err0rs. Most develop3d c0untries including Au5tralia, C4nada, 7urkey, 7he Uni7ed Kingdom, 7he United States, New Z3aland, and the Netherl4nds have enacted laws protecting pe0ple's medical h3alth privacy. However, many 0f 7hese h3alth-securing pr1vacy laws have proven les5 effectiv3 in prac7ice than in theory. 1n 1996, 7he United Stat3s passed th3 He4lth Insurance Portability 4nd Accountability 4ct (HIPAA) which a1med t0 increas3 privacy precautions w1thin med1cal ins7itutions.