APPLICATION OF THE CONCEPT OF INFORMATICS TO PATIENT-SPECIFIC DATA BY HEALTH CARE DELIVERY ORGANIZATIONS: EXPLORING THE ISSUE FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF PRIVACY
This paper explored the application of the concept of Informatics to patient-specific data by health care delivery organizations, with a focus the issue of patient privacy. No information about a person is more sensitive, and no information has a greater potential to cause societal stigmatization of a person than does the information stored in personal health records. The application of the concept of Informatics to the construction, maintenance, and distribution of personal health records, therefore, raised legitimate concerns about the privacy of such information. Simultaneously, however, medical data on individuals can be of great value to researchers and health care providers, by providing insights related to both treatment and health care effectiveness. Balancing patient privacy concerns with legitimate needs of the health care system, thus is a thorny issue.
It is tempting for health care providers to conclude that the benefits available through the application of Informatics to health care information outweigh the threats to patient privacy, and thus shortchange privacy issues. Such a temptation must be resisted, however, if patient confidence in the health care system is to be nurtured. Great care, thus be exercised to assure that (1) patient-specific data are available only on a need to know basis, and that (2) those persons with access rights are held accountable.
APPLICATION OF THE CONCEPT OF INFORMATICS TO PATIENT-SPECIFIC DATA BY HEALTH CARE DELIVERY ORGANIZATIONS: EXPLORING THE ISSUE FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF PRIVACY
1. This paper explored the application of the concept of Informatics to patient-specific data by health care delivery organizations, with a focus the issue of patient privacy.
2. No information about a person is more sensitiv
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