It is crucial that we inform our legislators of the risk of loss of trust in the doctor-patient relationship. This loss of trust is inevitable if we cannot protect the confidentiality of the patient's health care data. That loss will result in poorer health care due to incomplete or inaccurate information given us by patients in an effort to preserve their own privacy. It will also render the data bases of deidentified information used for legitimate purposes, such as research or economic planning, inaccurate and misleading. The steps necessary to protect patient confidentiality are more than we as clinicians can provide.
Federal legislation is also important.
1996 requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to propose measures for the protection of patient confidentiality within 18 months of the institution of the law. Many in Washington are now working to assist the secretary, including members of the mental health community who are giving testimony on Capitol Hill. The social security number is already widely used. Although it was initiated with the idea it would be used for social security purposes only, it becomes easy to identify persons through the construction of secondary data bases. It is imperative to protect against such a development with unique health care identifiers.