Electronic Medical Records

Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Notes * Third-year student, Southern Illinois University School of Law. Address correspondence to Ms. Steward at Southern Illinois University School of Law, Law Journal Office, Lesar Law Building, Carbondale, Illinois 62901. 1 See President George W. Bush, President Discusses Health Care Information Technology Benefits (Jan. 27, 2005), at http: //www. whitehouse. gov/news/releases/2005/01/20050127-7. html hereinafter Health Care Information Technology Benefits; see also President George W. Bush, State of the Union 2004, Remarks Regarding Strengthening Healthcare for Millions of Americans (Jan. 20, 2004), available at http: //www. whitehouse. gov/stateoftheunion/2004/. 2 Id. 3 Health Care Information Technology Benefits, supra note 1. 4 President George W. Bush, President's Address to the Nation (Jan. 24, 2004), available at https: //www. whitehouse. gov/news/releases/2004/01/20040124. html. 5 Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information, 65 Fed. Reg. 82, 462, 82, 465 (Dec. 28, 2000) (codified at 45 C. F. R. pts. 160 the procedures that should be established for the exercise of such rights; and the uses and disclosures of such information that should be authorized or required. S. C. Med. Ass'n v. Thompson, 327 F. 3d 346, 349 (4th Cir. 2003). 21 See S. C. Med. Ass'n, 327 F. 3d at 349. 22 Pierre, supra note 11, at 550. 23 Id. at 551 (citing 45 C. F. R. § 164. 308 (a) ). Addressable safeguards include, but are not limited to: implementation of procedures for the termination of access to electronic medical records when employment ends; implementation of procedures to determine whether or not the access of an employee is appropriate; implementation of electronic procedures that would terminate an electronic session once a predetermined time has expired; and implementation of electronic mechanisms that would corroborate whether electronic medical information has or has not been destroyed or altered. Id. 24 Id. at 550 (citing 45 C. F. R. § 164. 306 (b) (2) ). 25 Standards for Privacy of Individually Identifiable Health Information, 65 Fed. Reg. 82, 462, 82, 471 (Dec. 28, 2000) (codified at 45 C. F. R. pts. 160 see Olmstead v. United States, 277 U. S. 438, 478 (1928) (declaring the right to be let alone “the most comprehensive of rights and the right most valued by civilized men”) (Brandeis, J. , dissenting). 69 See Westinghouse Electric Corp. , 638 F. 2d at 578 (citing United States v. Grunewald, 233 F. 2d 556, 581-82 (2d Cir. 1956) ). 70 Id. at 576. Other factors considered by the court include “the information (a requested record) does or might contain, the potential for harm in any subsequent nonconsensual disclosure, the injury from disclosure to the relationship in which the record was generated” and “the degree of need for access. ” Id. at 578. 71 Id. at 581. 72 429 U. S. 589 (1977). 73 Id. at 591. 74 Id. 75 Id. at 592. 76 Id. at 593. 77 Id. at 595. 78 Id. at 598-99. 79 Id. at 606. 80 Id. at 595. 81 Jonathan B. Perlin et al. , The Veterans Health Administration: Quality, Value, Accountability, and Information as Transforming Strategies for Patient-Centered Care, 10 Am. J. Managed Care 828, 832 (2004) (citing R. E. Glasgow, Does the Chronic Care Model Serve also as a Template for Improving Prevention? , 79 Milbank Q. 579 (2001) ). 82 John F. Hurdle, Can the Electronic Medical Record Improve Geriatric Care? , 5 Geriatric Times 25, 26 (Mar. -Apr. 2004), available at http: //www. geriatrictimes. com/g040425. html. 83 Perlin et al. , supra note 81. VistA also supports ambulatory, inpatient, and long-term care. Id. 84 Office of Info. , Veterans Health Admin. , Vist A Monograph 139 (2005), available at http: //www1. va. gov/vista_ₘonograph/docs/vista_ₘonograph2005_₀6. pdf. 85 Id. 86 Denis J. Protti, The Benefits of a Single “National” Health Record Have Been Demonstrated 1 (2005), available at http: //www. connectingforhealth. nhs. uk/worldview/protti4/index_ₕtml/html2pdf. 87 Id. 88 Perlin et al. , supra note 81. 89 Hurdle, supra note 82. 90 Perlin et al. , supra note 81. 91 Id. 92 Id. 93 Id. 94 Id. Other benefits include computerized provider order entry, critical alerts, remote data view to access health information from other VA facilities, and a clinical reminder and notification system. Id. 95 Hurdle, supra note 82. 96 President's Info. Tech. Advisory Comm. , Report to the President: Revolutionizing Health Care Through Information Technology vii (2004), available at http: //www. nitrd. gov/pitac/reports/ 20040721_ₕit_ᵣeport. pdf. 97 President's Info. Tech. Advisory Comm. , Health Care Delivery and Information Technology Draft Recommendations 8 (2004), available at http: //www. nitrd. gov/pitac/meetings/2004/20040413/ 20040413_draft_ₕit. pdf. 98 Id. at 9. 99 Report to the President, supra note 96, at viii. One recommendation discusses developing a single set of standards for electronic medical record systems that can be implemented across all federally implemented systems and shared with the private sector. Id. at 15. 100 Draft Recommendations, supra note 97, at 7. 101 Id. at 19 (stating “research is needed to determine practical means for identifying and linking patient data from multiple sources in a unique, secure, and trusted manner that protects patient privacy and gives the patient control over the use of his or her medical information”). 102 Tsai, supra note 17, at 585. 103 President's Address to the Nation, supra note 4. 104 Report to the President, supra note 96, at 15.