With 150 people accessing electronic health records during a typical hospitalization--and many more translating data into billing information--patients should worry about the security of their medical records, reports the Los Angeles Times. The article raises a concern that only one consumer representative participates in the American Health Information Community, which, under the auspices of HHS, is advising those setting policies for standardizing electronic records, securing data, protecting privacy, and certifying electronic products. The other 16 committee members represent federal and state government, industry, employers, and hospital or physician groups. Experts agree that maintaining patient privacy is a priority and recommend that electronic records be decentralized, with data staying in physicians’ offices or in hospitals. “I would be worried if there were a central database in the basement of the White House that could be hacked, but we are not building that,” John Halamka, MD, chief information officer for Harvard Medical School and chairman of HHS’ Health Information Technology Standards Panel, told the Times.
