In a report for Modern Healthcare, Joseph Conn reviews possible paths the Department of Health and Human Services could take to protect patient privacy. Conn looks at the Federal Trade Commission's report on privacy and its "calls for a standard of protection that defines privacy as consent" based on the Fair Information Practice Principles (FIPPs). Similarly, he writes, the Commerce Department's recent report calls for guidelines based on "revitalized" FIPPs emphasizing "substantive privacy protection rather than simply creating procedural hurdles," while the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology has suggested "data-tagging technology should be used to enable patients' consent and control over their information." (Registration may be required to access this story.)
Full Story