Electronic Medical Records, Are They Safe? Identity Theft Expert www.IDTheftSecurity.com

14 Feb 2010 · 2 min

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2:26

The WBZ News segment, presented by Kate Merrill, examines the transition to electronic medical records (EMRs) in the United States. It highlights the projected $317 billion cost savings and the promise of streamlined workflows for physicians, while also featuring patient Marcia Steinberg’s experience of incomplete and erroneous records—over 50 % of her data were missing or inaccurate. Dr. Thomas Lee of Partners HealthCare discusses the benefits of national EMRs for coordinating care among multiple providers and explains that correcting errors is relatively straightforward, likening the system to typical software updates. The report then shifts to privacy concerns, with internet security expert Robert Siciliano warning of rising medical identity theft and emphasizing the need for stronger safeguards. Dr. Lee acknowledges privacy as the top concern and describes layered access controls designed to balance security with clinical accessibility. The segment concludes with Steinberg’s advice to patients: never leave a doctor’s office without confirming what the electronic record says, urging vigilance until the technology’s bugs are resolved.

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From this, pages of handwritten doctor's notes, to this, your medical history all on a computer file.
Physicians will have less paperwork to fill out, more critical information at their fingertips, and more time to spend with their patients.
With predicted savings of $317 billion, it sounds like healthcare heaven for doctors and patients. But Marcia Steinberg of Brookline calls it something else.
It's horrible. It has been a nightmare and a half.
Marcia was shocked when she checked her electronic medical records, or EMRs. The records weren't complete. Let's talk about that.
More than 50% not complete. There are mistakes of something like a kidney problem that occurred in 2004 has not been corrected.
Partners HealthCare, which includes Brigham and Women's and Mass General Hospital, is leading the way in going electronic.
I have complicated patients with 12 different doctors, and we all know what each other are doing because we just look in the information system.
Dr. Thomas Lee of Partners believes national EMRs are necessary and inevitable. He says the technology is constantly improving. How hard is it to change the records if there's been an error?
It's pretty easy. It's like any other software. The more people use it and the longer they use it, The more ideas that come up for making it better.
Another concern about EMRs: privacy. There is nothing more sacred than the doctor-patient confidential relationship. So would that be compromised with EMRs?
There's no such thing as 100% security when it comes to digitized records.
Internet security expert Robert Siciliano says medical identity theft is on the rise.
The system is gonna have to be tightened down significantly Otherwise, we're gonna see some serious breaches that are gonna affect and hurt a lot of people.
And Dr. Lee admits privacy is the number one concern.
We have all sorts of layers of protection that, you know, only certain people can get access to certain records. You also don't wanna make it impossible for people who are actually taking care of patients to get the information. So we're constantly dealing with that tension.
Until all the bugs can be worked out, Marsha has this advice.
Do not under any circumstances leave a doctor's office without knowing what that record says.
Like many aspects of medicine, there may be some risks with EMRs. The question is, are they outweighed by the benefits? Kate Merrill, WBZ News.