[thomasfedb]

I think this comment really hits it on the head.

Your medical record is meant to be a confidential record read only by those who are sworn to care for and protect you, and by nobody else for no other purpose.

As a student doctor it's alarming to think that people do not feel they can trust their doctor with their medical history. I wonder if this is particularly a problem with the US healthcare system.

[dublin]

I trust a few (definitely not most) doctors with medical information about me. I trust no EMRs, ever. I've worked with too many of them and seen how they're abused. Security and privacy in healthcare are a joke, and I say that as someone who once did massive-scale managed care systems for Fortune 50 companies. Anything I would deem personal and private I want to exist only in a paper record.

[rlucas]

You and all your colleagues should be aware of the Medical Information Bureau and IMS health.

Despite all of the kabuki theater about HIPAA and black covers on clipboards and whatnot, every single medical fact that is even considered for payment by an insurance company gets hoovered up into various industry databases and shared with any insurer who bothers to ask.