Barbara Kaufman

If you read Consumer Reports as I do, you may have remarked on the extensive article in this month's edition.  It concerns private medical data.

All of us have been impressed, I think, about the far-reaching developments in technology.  Every day we read about new ways of recording, sending, and saving information. Compared to even ten years ago, it's startling to learn what's possible.

Today, with electronic medical records, doctors can immediately discover what illness we've had, what complications, what drugs we are taking, and even what our grandparents died from. I was particularly impressed when my doctor was trying to prescribe an antibiotic for me. The computer kept red-lining his suggestions because the new drug was incompatible with other meds I was taking or else it was one I had an allergy to. He finally found the right one, but it was comforting to know that I was being protected against serious complications!

That's a potential benefit to all of us. It's especially critical when we have to see an unfamiliar physician or when we're traveling abroad. Our medical data is readily accessible.

But there's a caveat that accompanies that accessibility.  Computerized records are not always as secure and private as we might wish. Just think about all the recent news stories concerning hackers breaking into financial and personal information bases. The mischief that caused!

It's not inconceivable that hackers might break into medical databases, too.  Salesmen for drugs could target those who might be taking similar medicines.  We could be solicited to give to related charities. Knowledge of significant illnesses such as HIV infections could be used to disqualify people from insurance or loans or jobs. The benefit is great, but the risks are real.

Consumer's Union has identified six ways that could ensure adequate protection of our medical data:

• The system must be able to transfer health records securely and with reliability;
• A national network of health information must be managed so that it is public, transparent and accountable;
• Each one of us should be aware of who has our health records;
• We should be able to review and correct our records;
• We should know how our health information is to be used; and
• We should be able to choose whether or not we want to make that information available for the purposes identified.

I don't want to turn back the clock. I think that these advances have been good and for our benefit. But I equally believe that we must be wary about the proliferation of private data and its potential misuse.