[rb808]

I'm not clear on why medical records are so sensitive. I can understand some people might want to hide HIV status - but is there anything else? In the US people have wanted to hide prior conditions from insurance companies, but I wouldn't expect this a problem in Sweden.

[fulafel]

You must live in a community of very private people, if you haven't knowingly encountered anyone struggling with fear of stigma wrt addictions, common STDs, mental illness, neurodevelopmental disorders, infertility, harmful paraphilias, terminal illness, domestic violence etc.

It's a deep-seated tendency in mammals to hide sickness, and therefore the confidentiality in healthcare settings is essential to get people to seek care in time.

[marcinzm]

STDs in general are sensitive since people may want to hide them or hide the implications. Abortions are sensitive as well depending on the social group.

If you're underage you may especially want to hide those two from your parents depending on the social group. If you're a woman you may also want those two hidden from your family depending on the social group. Sweden has a large refuge population from very conservative cultures and things like acid attacks against women are decently common. So not keeping those thing hidden can get you killed or horribly injured if you're in certain social groups.

[OlleTO]

> and things like acid attacks against women are decently common.

Wait, what? Where's your source on this.

Via google I can find references to one case from 1997 and one from 2002, and that's it. The idea that this would in any way be "decently common" here is preposterous.

[BurningFrog]

Acid attacks are not common, but a lot of young immigrant women live under quite repressive family conditions, and can not see a doctor for their sexual health with their family knowing about it.

[ptaipale]

There are other, more recent cases of acid or threat of it, eg [1], though I'd say acid attacks are not particularly common in Sweden. Many more cases in UK, for instance. There are more actual cases of defenestration ("falling from the balcony") in Sweden.

In any case the leak of health information is nothing to laugh at e.g. for those who live under threat of "honor violence".

[1] https://www.na.se/artikel/hallefors/man-i-hallefors-anhallen...

[NeedMoreTea]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_throwing#United_Kingdom

London Metropolitan Police showed a sharp rise in attacks, with 465 recorded in 2017

Particularly common in London, and amongst some immigrant communities. Other countries are not so far behind, and I gather it is quite common in some of the developing world, like India and Pakistan.

[cc81]

In the UK it seems it has mostly been a weapon among criminals more than a honor thing that is more common in the developing world.

[ptaipale]

This probably is due to incentives - carrying a knife may bring a long prison sentence, carrying a bottle of acid or lye as weapon did not. UK changed sentencing guidelines last year.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-43225911

[NeedMoreTea]

Now, sure, especially in London. It's grown as a weapon of choice phenomenally quickly over the last 5 years, from almost nothing.

Seems like it may have been noticed being used for honour attacks in communities in London, Bradford, Leicester etc, and escalated from there. A particularly horrible form of attack.

[vertex-four]

Personally, my medical status is something that multiple people in the mainstream media have said they support harming me over, and people do get assaulted for. If my medical status were not protected, I would be treating myself (semi-illegally) without the care of a doctor, which is supposedly something we don't want.

[maeln]

There is many example why medical record is a very sensitive data.

You can be blackmailed because you have or had a "shameful" disease, a potential employer can deny you a job because you were too often sick for his own taste, insurance might deny you because you have a too risky profile, ...

[krn1p4n1c]

None of those scenarios are viable in Sweden.

[ubercow13]

Because Swedes are uniquely morally upstanding and non-judgemental?

[krn1p4n1c]

No, we're highly judgemental, but an employer is not allowed to inquire or make hiring/firing decisions with regard to your health status. Likewise life insurance might have a higher premium if you regularly engage in extreme sports, but they can't deny you. Health care is ubiquitous regardless of your condition.

[maeln]

And how would you know that an employer refused you a position because of your health record ?

These kinds of laws exists in most country, but if you cannot prove it, they are useless. So if a employer has a public access to your health record, what you prevent him from doing the above and tell you a random reason ?

There was a case in France were an Ikea director has access to private police record and was making hiring decision based on that. It's completely illegal but they did it for years before getting caught.

[fulafel]

And blackmail is also not allowed, so that's covered too.

[ptaipale]

Sorry, but this sounds a little naive, in the Annie Lööf style: "In Sweden, it's forbidden to be a criminal".

[zulln]

Health care insurance, privat sjukvårdsförsäkring, can deny you. Talk from experience.

Makes a lot of sense as well, anything else would be weird. If this was not the case you could just get it when you have already been deemed sick, to get the faster private care instead of public health care.

[crottypeter]

You seem to be missing the point. The boss does not have to enquire if the information is already public!

[krn1p4n1c]

I understood the point. If an employee/applicant felt they had been discrimitated against and reported it there would be an inquiry and serious financial/social consequences. Hiring is a lengthy process and firing is very difficult.

Lots of information is available in Sweden that would make Americans squeemish to have public. The difference is that most people aren't interested in the sordid details of their neighbors.

[asenk]

So do you then think it's legal in the U.S to possess stolen health data?

[jeromegv]

Quite something that we are now at the part of the privacy debate where the argument is "well, why do you care about private medical records? shouldn't this be public?"

[LeftTurnSignal]

I'm also interested if OP will post their medical history, since they don't mind it being public. But I doubt anyone making that argument would actually do that.

Kind of a rough argument, but maybe it's just because they have never been beaten or harassed over something about their medical history. Which is good for them, but not the world most of us live in.

[rb808]

Thanks for the replies on this. I was really thinking of my friends and family, I think I know most of what people have had, including abortions, mental illness, cancer etc. I can now see how others can have serious problems with abuse, harassment or unwanted publicity of private issues.

[deweller]

Well for one thing, there are many medical conditions that can be embarrassing when shared with non-medical professionals. Do you really want your neighbor finding out about that rash or fungus you called about?

[Real_S]

One reason health data is so valuable is that the older you are, the more problems you have. For example, neurodegenerative diseases can be serious, and when they begin to develop the patient may still be working! Imagine if your boss found out that you had ~2 good years left.

Even worse, people with dementia are prone to being scammed. We need to do everything possible to stop adversaries and scammers from having a list of people with neurodegenerative disease. Unfortunately, most people have little fear of their health data being hacked and hospitals have little incentive to protect it. Although I hear things are "getting better," the protection of you health data remains in a terrible state.

[proaralyst]

There are many more embarrassing medical conditions other than HIV status.

[runj__]

http://threewordphrase.com/presentation.htm

[vectorEQ]

blackmailing famous people by obtaining their medical records is a lucrative business. they might want to hide much more mundane things than HIV. (pregnancy, some accident which happened, drug related incidents etc. etc.)

[jacquesm]

Politicians as well, that's a much more direct lever on society.

[Accacin]

I remember there was a case in the US where a girl was travelling to America, and the TSA took her phone and went through her email and found out about her previous drug addiction and refused her visa because of this.