Surgery Center of Oklahoma Blog

“The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.”  If you are not a Star Trek fan you just need to know that this is what Mr. Spock said to his captain (Jim Kirk) when he volunteered for a suicide mission that would save the rest of the crew.  Back to this shortly.

Years ago I was pressured to release the confidential medical records of patients operated on at our facility.  I didn’t release the records and it got very ugly, but ultimately we prevailed.  During the very threatening discussions a physician who was a hired gun by the folks who wanted these records told me that patient confidentiality was not important if this data collection made a difference in someone else’s life.  I argued that individual rights distinguished our form of government from those that championed the “collective.”  I tried to point out that a possible benefit to one individual doesn’t justify the violation of the rights of another.

He quoted Mr. Spock, as I have above.  I pointed out that Mr. Spock’s actions were those of a volunteer.  ”It is one thing to throw yourself on a grenade to save your foxhole buddies.  It is quite another to be shoved onto the grenade against your will,” I said.  This hired gun still didn’t get it.  We wound up filing a lawsuit against this bunch of fascists and the patients’ data remained secure.

What’s the point of all of this? 

Everyone wants your health information.  Your employer wants it.  The government wants it at the state and federal level.  Private companies are offering chips onto which your health history, allergies and medications can be stored so that you can basically carry a detailed medical record with you at all times. 

My advice is to be very careful who you share your personal health history with.  It is not out of the realm of possibility that governments would subpoena data you have revealed to a private entity.  The consitution-ignoring thugs in D.C. have already done this with cell phone records.  Once your health information becomes digitalized, it is not nearly as secure as it was on a paper record.  Paper medical records are much more difficult to steal and organize into the much desired statistical justification for anything and everything that will be a recommendation from D.C.  It is probably no coincidence that the feds are providing incentives to physicians and faciltiies to convert to digital medical record systems.  Physicians and facilities that do not convert will be singled out for lower payments from Medicare, for instance.  Health information technology businesses have made billions because of these boosts in demand created by our wonderful government that simply were not there before.  Watch for certain congressmen and senators to have high paying positions on the boards of these companies after they leave office. 

Make no mistake.  The individual’s right to privacy with regard to their health records is under full assault and this attack will likely continue for some time, particularly with the disaster of a national health plan looming.

G. Keith Smith, M.D.