Medical Records

Birth Certificates Are a Data-Collection Vehicle for the Government

ST. PAUL, Minn.—The birth of a baby is a joyous time, filled with activity, questions from new parents and lots of information sharing—especially at the hospital.

But during that somewhat stressful time, precious private information about these new little lives will be shared with countless others, through a seemingly harmless document—the birth certificate.

Profiled from Birth, Vol. 1: Not Just a Birth Certificate

Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom (CCHF, www.cchfreedom.org), a Minnesota-based national organization dedicated to preserving patient-centered health care and protecting patient and privacy rights, recently released a new report, called “Not Just a Birth Certificate: How states use birth certificates to collect data, conduct research and warehouse electronic health information.” 

President’s “Precision Medicine” Ploy?

The President wants your genetic code. Mr. Obama has announced a new “Precision Medicine Initiative” (PMI) that includes databasing medical records, genetic blueprints and lifestyles of a million or more Americans. Here are seven disturbing aspects of his initiative:

New MN Mandate on Electronic Health Records Spells Danger for Patients

Patient Advocate Says New Mandate Will Harm Doctor-Patient Relationships; Survey Demonstrates Concern 

ST. PAUL, Minn.—When Minnesota rang in the new year, the state also ushered in a new mandate requiring all health providers to utilize an Electronic Health Record (EHR) system that will share their patients’ private data with other entities and greatly impact the doctor-patient relationship.

Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom Celebrates Victories for Patient Rights in 2014

ST. PAUL, Minn.—This past year was perhaps one of the most crucial in history regarding patient rights and privacy, as important issues such as government health care, the storage of and research on baby DNA and federal biosurveillance plans all made headlines.

10 Harmful Ways Gov’t Will Use Your Data

Monday, CCH Freedom released our first publication of stories on “The HIPAA Privacy Deception.”  In short, there’s no privacy. HIPAA is not what people think it is. The 12 stories came from people who legally refused to sign the so-called “HIPAA privacy form” at their clinic or hospital.

HIPAA’s Privacy Deception

ST. PAUL, Minn.—Millions of patients scrawl their signature on that form whenever it’s slid across the counter at the doctor’s office, dentist’s office or hospital. It can even be as easy as “clicking” a signature at a sign-in kiosk before a procedure like a mammogram.

The HIPAA Privacy Deception

This document of personal stories of patients who refused to sign the HIPAA privacy form is part of CCH Freedom’s “Refuse to Sign HIPAA” campaign. Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom is using this campaign to highlight the fact that the “HIPAA Privacy Rule” does not protect patient privacy – and that patients are not required to sign the so-called “HIPAA privacy form.” 

Checkboxes, Ebola, and Embedding the EHR

Should the EHR be blamed? After a Texas hospital let Liberian Thomas Duncan go home (with Ebola), hospital officials blamed the electronic health record (EHR). A day later, they retracted their statement -- without explanation.

Don’t Drink the EHR Kool-Aid

The Obama administration needs you to believe a lie. They have already spent nearly $25 billion of the $36 million in taxpayer dollars allotted to move Americans from the security of paper medical records to the insecurity and government surveillance and intrusions of interoperable electronic health records (EHRs).