It maintains these features for health information under the authority of "covered" units such as health care centre, plan or provider. Online storages such as Google Health and Microsoft Health Vault do not lie within the bounds of such kinds of units. This implies that their data is not as safe as they expect or assume them to be. The best approach to stay safe is to manage the electronic medical records in an online patient portal which works within the confines of the health care provider's information system. The private data which exists there will be covered by the terms of HIPAA. The level of access can be moderated to comply with the laws of the state. An instance of such a portal is the "PatientSite" created at the Beth Israel Deacon Medical Center, Boston. This kind of forum provides services such as secure messaging, registering appointments and updating prescriptions. Patients, external pharmacies or portals are usually not allowed to input any data3.
One of the most obvious issues with electronic medical records is the fact that they are accessed in a medium which can be reached from any part of the world, the internet. While all forms of transactions are usually processed after the authorized users log in using a password, the history of internet fraud still make them think twice before using such an online service. Regardless of the various levels of encryption being used these days, several instances of hacking and identity theft have presented themselves. Blue Cross, an American company using electronic records of medical data came under attack on September 30, 2008 where around 1700 users had their personal data such as phone and social...
A Canadian agency encountered a hacker attack on November 26, 2007 where confidential information about Aids and Hepatitis patients was stolen2.
While such kinds of internet applications are on the rise, a large section of physicians aren't ready to adopt it completely. Developmental glitches of different kinds tend to show up which can harm the patients. It is necessary to remove all of these bugs before an online system of medical records gets universally accepted.
Notes
1. Robert Steinbrook, "Personally Controlled Online Health Data -- The next big thing in medical care" The New England Journal of Medicine, (2008): 1655.
2. "Electronic Medical Records - The pros and cons." healthworldnet.com. 1 March, 2009.
http://healthworldnet.com/HeadsOrTails/electronic-medical-records-the-pros-and-cons/?C=6238
3. Declan McCullagh. "Q&A: Electronic Medical Records and you" cbsnews.com. 19 May, 2009.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/05/19/tech/cnettechnews/main5025516.shtml
Bibliography
Steinbrook, Robert. "Personally Controlled Online Health Data -- The next big thing in medical care" The New England Journal of Medicine, (2008): 1653-1656
"Electronic Medical Records - The pros and cons," healthworldnet.com. 1 March, 2009,
http://healthworldnet.com/HeadsOrTails/electronic-medical-records-the-pros-and-cons/?C=6238
McCullagh, Declan, "Q&A: Electronic Medical Records and you," cbsnews.com, 19 May, 2009,
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/05/19/tech/cnettechnews/main5025516.shtml
