Re: Are Google/MSFT bound by HIPAA?

[DAVID FARBER <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Brock N Meeks <bmeeks () cox net>
> Date: February 23, 2008 12:45:43 PM EST
> To: dave () farber net
> Cc: "ip" <ip () v2 listbox com>
> Subject: Re: [IP] Are Google/MSFT bound by HIPAA?
>
> Dr. Zimmer asks a very important question; unfortunately the answer  
> is, "it depends."  There are opinions on both sides of this answer.   
> Some claim that Google and Msft are, indeed, bound by HIPAA's  
> privacy and disclosure guidelines; other say, "hold on, it's not so  
> clear that they are."
>
> That ambiguity creates a huge soft spot in privacy policy and  
> practice for this industry and the technology that is growing up  
> around it, but to which few have paid close attention.  Health  
> Information Technology or "HIT" as it's called, is already gaining  
> steam and beginning to be implemented in throughout the health  
> community from your general practitioner to your hospital to your  
> pharmacy to your third party health information "provider," such as  
> Google or Microsoft.
>
> And where does that leave YOU?  What protections, rights, etc., do  
> you have over all this information, where it goes, who has access to  
> it and how it's protected?  The answer, amazingly, is that there are  
> few guidelines and you have few assurances or rights written into law.
>
> But there are different groups working on these problems, and they  
> operate nearly invisible save for those directly invested in the  
> industry.
>
> In an effort to help bring some clarity and perspective to this  
> whole area, the organization I work for, the Center for Democracy  &  
> Technology, will shortly take on the  Health Privacy Project.  The  
> team leading this project will address all the questions above and  
> more.  They will be meeting with industry players such as Google and  
> Microsoft, as well as legislative staffs (and yes, there is  
> legislation in this area, but when was the last time you heard about  
> that?,) and working to insure that privacy protections are in place  
> and that the patient's rights don't get kicked the curb in the  
> meantime.
>
>
> On Feb 23, 2008, at 9:34 AM, David Farber wrote:
>
> > ________________________________________
> > From: Michael Zimmer [michael.zimmer () yale edu]
> > Sent: Saturday, February 23, 2008 8:35 AM
> > To: David Farber
> > Subject: Are Google/MSFT bound by HIPAA?
> >
> > Can anyone in IP shed light on whether 3rd parties who hold personal
> > medical information (such as Google or Microsoft) are bound by  
> > HIPAA's
> > privacy and disclosure guidelines?
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Michael
> >
> >
> >
> > -----
> > Michael Zimmer, PhD
> > Microsoft Fellow, Information Society Project
> > Yale Law School
> > e: michael.zimmer () yale edu
> > w: http://michaelzimmer.org

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