A new medical record privacy regulation carries the bad along with the good for doctors. By Susan J. Landers , AMNews staff. May 7, 2001.
Conventional wisdom says they can, but now the government wants proof.
A federal rule governing the privacy of patients' medical information is causing some apprehension among physician groups. President Bush's April 12 decision to release a medical records privacy rule from the Clinton administration came as a surprise to many who had urged the new administration to hold off on the regulation's release until substantial changes were made. The new standards allow patients to determine who has access to their medical records, to limit disclosure and, in some cases, to modify what is in those records. Any revisions to the regulation are to come in the form of administrative modifications and guidelines issued by the Dept. of Health and Human Services over the next year. The Bush administration has all but promised that modifications are in the offing, and both the rule's supporters and detractors are counting on changes to ease the path to implementation.