The resources that must be devoted to compliance with differing state laws in this area can be significant. Adding a new layer of federal regulation without preemption of existing state confidentiality laws would only compound the difficulty. As a result, HIAA would support only those pieces of federal legislation that preempted most state laws. Consumers' concerns over the confidentiality of health information must be addressed. At the same time, however, we must be careful not to adopt overly prescriptive legislation that undermines the ability of the health care industry to provide these same consumers with the high quality, affordable health care services.
Health information is the lifeblood of the health care system.
The days of a patient seeing only a single family practitioner have ended. Today, patients obtain care from a diverse group of health care practitioners, such as specialists and allied health care professionals. As our nation has moved increasingly toward a system of integrated care and computerized transactions, the free flow of medical information becomes even more critical. Accurate, readily available health information is vital to determining the best course of treatment for a patient, and that is clearly its central and most important use. Also critical is the use of such information to help ensure that basic insurance functions are carried out, such as paying claims and preventing fraud and abuse.