This is true across the spectrum of health services from routine services to mental health services. Today, there are almost no real protections for individuals' medical information. Although everyone understands the issue of privacy and confidentiality around medical records, there is still a need to balance the patient's right to privacy with the larger public good for research and disease tracking. The Centers for Disease Control must have access to population-based information in order to predict and substantiate serious public health risks. Pharmaceutical manufacturers use clinical trials information to assist in the development of more effective drugs to fight diseases.
State laws are inconsistent regarding the use of medical information.
These regulations only address the privacy issue as it relates to electronic transmission of information, not to the paper-based system. Cryptography, electronic signatures, user verification systems, passwords, biometric identification techniques and dial-back devices all work together to pose a formidable threat to intrusion. Automated systems also enable sophisticated audit trails, which tell who accesses the information, how and when. A patient's doctor gains access to a patient's comprehensive health record no matter where the information resides or the patient is located. Databases that show every prescription written for a particular patient can prevent drug interactions that can cause dire consequences.