EMR privacy debate heats up

The debate over privacy rights and electronic medical records (EMRs) is heating up. After changes made this week, the Johnson-Deal bill looks as though it will probably not include protections designed to limit the ability of insurers and others to access patient records. That's led to controversy in Washington, where privacy rights groups are clashing with lobbyists representing health plans and other groups. A spokesman for America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) said that consumers should not be allowed to opt out of the system. "If a patient can opt out and say, 'I don't want any genetic information or information about AIDS,' pretty soon you have a patient record that's incomplete in developing treatment options."

- read this article from Roll Call