"To improve the quality of our health care while lowering its cost, we will make the immediate investments necessary to ensure that, within five years, all of America's medical records are computerized," Obama said in a speech from George Mason University in Fairfax, Va. "This will cut waste, eliminate red tape and reduce the need to repeat expensive medical tests."
As a former victim of identity theft, (with a huge "chip"on my shoulder) you can imagine what my position on this might be. At the time of this identity theft, I was fortunate to be living in one of the wealthier areas of NJ and luckily I was able to resolve this within a few months before it really got out of hand. The police department handled everything for me. I've read horror stories though about people's lives being ruined forever when their identity is stolen.
Then, when we moved back to CT, we dealt with another "breech" and were notified that our personal information (from our tax return) was on a state employee's computer that had been stolen. We were given 2 years of "free" Debix Identity Theft Protection. (and don't EVEN get me started on Debix)
THEN, the entire family got notification last year that we were all entitled to another 2 years of Debix protection because a computer containing ALL of our information (this time the kids SS numbers were involved) was stolen from the office of a former employer. I'm guessing it was someone's computer from the HR department that handled our health benefits.
So, you can see how I might object to my personal information being available "on-line" via my medical records.
It's not about the medical info being available (I've worked as a medical secretary for many years, and I can assure you that your medical records ARE NOT PRIVATE). I just have grave concerns about the SS# being available.
Identity theft aside, do we really want the government controlling our medical records with carte blanche access to our personal information?
Big Pharma and the insurance companies will have a field day with all of this info!
How do you think employers might use this to their advantage when hiring someone? (i.e. pre-existing conditions)
or when they might want to get the "dirt" on someone...
Remember the fiasco about Joe the Plumber and how much child support he owed?
"The systematic misuse of government databases and the governor's woeful under-reaction to state government workers engaging in this outrageous behavior make House Bill 648 necessary," she told the committee.
And we can't forget about
Linda Tripp's settlement with the Pentagon over the leaking of details in her personnel file
Maybe we should just hand our arms over right now, save a lot of wasted time and energy, and get our chips...
crossposted at BigBrassBlog
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