CDT believes this practice, if engaged in by the sites, is unfair and deceptive. Today CDT staff counsel Deirdre Mulligan found that Heartinfo.org has overhauled their statement regarding the use of personal information. The new statement assures visitors that the detailed information they provide to the Web site including information about prescription medications, cholesterol, sex, age, name, email and postal address, and phone number, will not be disclosed to others including the sponsors of the site. Inc. KOS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and others.
Consumers consider health and financial information to be their most sensitive personal information.
A bevy of surveys over the past five years have documented a heightened concern with the privacy of medical information, and an even deeper concern with the automation of medical information. CDT strongly believes that the collection, use and disclosure of personal health information should be regulated by a strong federal medical privacy law. We are pleased that Congress is resuming its effort to craft a federal privacy policy for medical records with today's hearing in the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources. With or without legislation, CDT believes that Web sites engaged in the collection of information about individual's health must provide consumers with full information about the use and disclosure of their personal health information. The sensitive nature of the personal information at issue, the well-documented consumer privacy concerns, and the serious consequences the individual may suffer if health information is misused require a full and comprehensive notice to consumers.