Pros and Cons of Electronic Medical Records
VELSHI: Continuing what I think is a fascinating discussion about online records and electronic medical records with Meneesha Mithal. She's with the Federal Trade Commission, FTC, associate director in the division of Privacy and Identity Protection. That's somebody I got to -- you really want to know, because these are big concerns of ours. And Stan Crosley, he's the co-director of Indiana University's Center for Strategic Health Information Provisioning. Stan, let's just be clear about one thing. There's a difference between online medical records and the electronic medical records that the stimulus bill talks about. There's a big range. Just try and give me the difference here.</s>CROSLEY: Absolutely. So, personal health records, the online medical records you're talking about, are really controlled by the individual. They're more of a cul-de-sac off of the information superhighway, if you will, and that's controlled by the individual. Physicians often don't see that. That's for private use. The electronic medical records that the stimulus bill put almost $20 billion toward is what we're trying to wire together. And there's no doubt that the technologists and the science will work through that. The sociology is the big issue. I mean, it's not just privacy versus non-privacy. It's privacy versus lives. I mean, it is safety and health at stake, but the wiring of those electronic medical records brings enormous potential.</s>VELSHI: Maneesha, is -- the two concerns, privacy is one concern. You talked about it, whether you've had a drug test or you have health information you don't want others knowing about. And then there's the security aspect, the idea that on this little cul-de-sac on the information highway, as Stan talked about, you are storing information, it's in a cloud somewhere. Is it in danger of being hacked like we have seen things hacked over the last five or 10 years?</s>MITHAL: It is in danger of being hacked, and I think one of the things that we've tried to do is to make sure that sunlight is the best disinfectant. So, under the stimulus bill, the FTC was required to issue a rule requiring breach notification. So, if there is a breach of your medical records online, then you would get a notification as a consumer.</s>VELSHI: Right.</s>MITHAL: And so that's going to be very important.</s>VELSHI: Now, is there a difference about what Stan was just describing between you storing your medical records online -- and there's something really very attractive about that idea, that you can find them, you can consult them, you can see them -- and what these hospitals and larger companies are doing with the electronic medical records? Because they tell me that they're much safer, that this is not the same thing as you storing your medical records online. Do you see a difference between the two?</s>MITHAL: I do see a difference. It's very interesting, because when you go to a doctor's office, you get your blood pressure read, your get your heart rate red. That's all protected information under existing law. So, let's say now that you get a blood pressure reading on a cuff that you connect to the Internet yourself, or you get your heart rate measured through a Nike chip in your shoe. That information is not protected under privacy laws right now. Now, I'm not saying that the protections should necessarily be the same, but it's something to consider.</s>VELSHI: And then, Stan, your view is that it is absolutely is something to consider, but you think that the benefit of getting this information in a way that medical groups and doctors, and everything talks to each other, far outweighs the dangers at the moment?</s>CROSLEY: Yes. You know, I don't know if it far outweighs. What I would say is that, as a society, we have to realize that, you know, privacy is not -- it's not a conversation about privacy and non- privacy. It's a conversation between do we do the right security, address the harms that someone may experience if their identity gets stolen, make sure we prosecute those people, but at the same time, don't put stoplights every 10 feet on the superhighway? We've got to let this information flow because it has incredible, enormous potential for health care quality and health care research.</s>VELSHI: What a great conversation. There's so much more that we can talk about, and I hope you'll both come back and talk to me more about this, about some of the specifics that we're looking at. Stan Crosley is the co-director of Indiana University's Center for Strategic Health Information Provisioning. And Meneesha Mithal is the Federal Trade Commission's associate director in the Division of Privacy and Identity Protection. Thank you to both of you for being here.</s>CROSLEY: Thank you.</s>MITHAL: Thank you.</s>VELSHI: All right. Well, when it rains, it pours, especially for an Atlanta microbrewery. We'll take you on a visit that might leave you thirsty the next time it rains.