Electronic Health Records

Health Care Data Breaches Put the Private Medical info of Millions of Americans in Jeopardy

ST. PAUL, Minn.—Well over 1 million patients are the latest victims of a huge health care data breach. Just last week, UnityPoint Health notified 1.4 million patients that their records may have been breached when its business system was compromised by a phishing attack, reported Healthcare IT News.

The Watched Are Never Free

ST. PAUL, Minn.—It’s impossible for patients and doctors to have an effective relationship when they are being watched. The patient will always try to protect themselves if they think they are being monitored or surveilled, and therefore won’t be entirely open and transparent with their doctor. 

Electronic Health Records Turn Doctors Away from Patients and Into Data Clerks

ST. PAUL, Minn.—Electronic health records (EHRs) have infringed upon the patient-doctor relationship in innumerable ways, but none more glaring than how EHRs have turned doctors away from patients and into data clerks. 

It’s just the tip of the iceberg of how the mandated, government-certified EHR technology has negatively affected doctors and patients. 

BUSTED: The Myth of High-Cost End-of-Life Care

Is care at the end of life a waste of money? It has often been said, “Twenty-five percent of spending occurs in the last year of life.” The point of this claim is that we’re wasting money on those who are dying. It further supports rationing care to the elderly; redistributing dollars from the elderly to the young; and physician-facilitated suicide and euthanasia.

AVAILABLE TODAY: New Book 'Big Brother in the Exam Room' launched at FreedomFest

ST. PAUL, Minn.—Health care has already found its way into the narrative surrounding President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court pick, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, announced less than 48 hours ago. But regardless of how SCOTUS may impact future health care policy, there are real threats to patientstoday, including third-party controls over care, surveillance, data collection and privacy invasions—much of it through electronic health record (EHR) systems found in a majority of doctor’s offices and hospitals around the country.

3 Privacy Concerns Patients May Not Know About

ST. PAUL, Minn.—Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom (CCHF) is alerting Americans to three privacy issues they may not know anything about.

CCHF president and co-founder Twila Brase says these three health care news items are just a sampling of the many ways the government and the health care industry are attempting to use patient data—often without consent—for their own gain.

CCHF Letter to Walden, Burgess, & Barton regarding Jessie's Law

We are concerned about the impact of this legislation on patient rights, patient privacy, and patient access to timely and essential medical care. We request that the legislation NOT be passed.

World Aghast at Facebook Data Scandal, But HIPAA Shares Private Patient Data Every Day

ST. PAUL, Minn.—Headlines exploded when it was discovered that Facebook may have had a role in allowing a UK-based political data firm that worked for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign to improperly access data on 87 million people, CNN, among others, reported. Less than a month later, CNBC reported Facebook had a plan to match Facebook user data with patient data, which was put on hold after the previous leak was discovered.

Congress Moving Ahead to Take Away Privacy & Consent in Matters of Substance Abuse

ST. PAUL, Minn.—Patient privacy, when it comes to sensitive medical information, is almost a thing of the past—thanks to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) “no-privacy rule,” says Citizens’ Council for Health Freedom (CCHF). But one area that has remained private is data concerning substance abuse, currently kept separate from most medical records to protect patients.

EHRs Were Supposed to Save Money— But Aren’t

ST. PAUL, Minn.—Proponents of electronic health records (EHRs) say digital medical records are supposed to cut costs, but a new major study by researchers at Harvard Business School and Duke University shows how the promised savings aren’t materializing.