The officials emphasized that they want to protect privacy, and they said consumers should have a right to inspect and copy their medical records. But, they argued, the Clinton rules would disrupt routine operations of the health-care industry and would impose unreasonable, costly burdens on doctors, hospitals, pharmacists and other providers of care. Administration officials said they would not kill the rules. They said, though, that the standards are fundamentally flawed and need to be changed. They were to take effect on April 14.
Patients can revoke their consent at any time.
Strictly limit the amount of information that can be disclosed. Require hospitals to help enforce the rules by rewriting contracts with suppliers. Hospital executives said this provision could inhibit doctors from talking to one another, to nurses and even to patients. The Bush administration is not permitted to simply revoke the rules. The administration's decision is a victory for the health-care industry, which has lobbied intensely against the rules.