National Health Surveillance

From the Citizens' Council on Health Care:

MEDIA RELEASE
Friday, February 13, 2009
For Immediate Release



Issued Today:

CCHC Report on Economic Stimulus & Patient Rights


Part 1: National Health Surveillance



Minneapolis/Saint Paul – The Citizens' Council on Health Care (CCHC) has just issued Part 1 of a new patient rights publication, "Economic Stimulus" & Patient Rights Report. The report will highlight the infringements of patient and privacy rights in the economic stimulus bill that will be voted on today by Congress.

Twila Brase, president of CCHC and author of the report, provides the following statement:


"The economic stimulus bill will infringe on longstanding patient and privacy rights.

"Private medical information will soon become part of a new national health surveillance system - essentially one big government database of medical records. Surprisingly, the bill will even allow private medical data to be bought and sold.

"The public needs to know that they won't be able to stay out of the national health surveillance system. They need to know that they will not have the right to shield their private medical history by having more than one medical record. By 2014, patient's private data will be linked together into one single comprehensive online medical record.

"The doctor's office could soon be viewed as a national data collection center, not a clinic of confidential care.

"We are looking at the end of patient privacy rights in America. We may also be looking at the beginning of patients using innovative and potentially harmful strategies to evade surveillance. They will do all they can do to protect their own medical privacy.

"How does Congress think this will improve health care quality?"


Media Contact:
Twila Brase, RN, PHN
President
651-646-8935 office


Citizens' Council on Health Care supports freedom for patients and doctors, medical innovation, and the right to a confidential patient-doctor relationship.