Re: IP: Query from the UK RE: Targeted marketing gets personal

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

To: Stuart Schwartzstein <sschwartzstein () onreur navy mil>
From: "Willis H. Ware" <willis () rand org>



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Folder: YES

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Sir:


We both read Dave Farber's stuff....


1. re who owns medical records.  I'm not sure of that answer but I do know
that various states have laws stipulating that a patient is entitled to a
copy of his patient record.  Some state laws exclude psychiatric records.
I'll make a probe and see whether I can find anything more.  My intuition
says that the question has never been resolved in the strict sense of
ownership; namely, having sole control who the asset including the ability
to do with it whatever one wishes provided it is legal.


My guess (non-lawyerly) would be that by tradition patient records are
considered to be the property of the provider, but that position has been
moderated by various laws providing access and right to copy.  MDs
historically had argued that it would do the patient more harm than good to
have a copy of records, not to mention the jargon that a patient would not
understand and phsicians' handwriting that only the in-group can recognize.


2.  re database matching ... there is a federal law governing such
activities.  I do not recall its name but your JAG should be able to run it
down.  It's likely to be in the USC wherever the Privay Act of 1974 is
stashed.


It's many years  old (perhaps close to 10) and stipulates the rules
under which federal agencies are allowed to match databases.  Among the
rules that I recall are:


    a.  Publish notice of intent and rationale of the action in federal
register with 30 (maybe 90) day public comment period


    b. Manually verify all hits to make sure that they are indeed valid hits


    c. Some privacy stipulations


In regard to these questions, good place to have a search is the online
archives of epic.org ...  If you know anyone at EPIC you might give it a
query.  You could also go for a good old altavista search, or a search on
some legal database.


                                Willis Ware
                                RAND Santa Monica, CA




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