Venyu Blog

Never let it be said I never told you so.

According to this article in Health Data Management Magazine, a federal advisory board is recommending mandated data encryption for one-to-one exchanges of patient data between providers. As an aside, the federal advisory board in question, the HIT Committee (shorthand for health IT committee) makes recommendations to the National Coordinator for Health IT on a policy framework for the development and adoption of a nationwide health information infrastructure, including standards for the exchange of patient medical information in association with The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Encryption would be mandated from one provider to another for treatment purposes when there is potential for transmitted data to be exposed.

Additionally, the recommendations propose that given the one-to-one exchange under which the encryption scenario would be required, the mandate would need no “additional individual consent beyond what is already required by current law.” In other words, as a patient the feds will not need your permission when exchanging sensitive information with another entity, in this case, a provider. Sounds like a law that could get out of hand pretty quickly if the same process is mirrored in non doctor-patient scenarios. Is state-sponsored identity management the real outcome of universal healthcare? I welcome your thoughts.