Health Privacy Summit 2011: 1st International Summit on the Future of Health Privacy
Getting IT Right: Protecting Patient Privacy Rights in a Wired World
Overview
The 1st International Summit on the Future of Health Privacy, Getting IT Right: Protecting Patient Privacy Rights in a Wired World, was designed to cultivate debate and interaction among diverse participants by focusing on real world health privacy cases. Panelists discussed strategies for delivering responsible, realistic privacy solutions for America’s next generation health care system. Experts from law, academia and research, consumer and privacy advocacy organizations, health professions, providers and health plans, and the health IT industry worked together to define the content and format of the Summit. Participants also discussed next steps, including developing an interdisciplinary research agenda, identifying principles and best practices for policymakers and industry; launching working groups to tackle specific and contentious issues and planning a high level political summit on Health Privacy.
Background
The United States is creating a new health information technology (HIT) infrastructure to facilitate the transfer of personal health information; but it also makes possible secondary uses, aggregation, collection and analysis. Designed well, health information exchange could lead to a more efficient, safe and effective health care system and impasse-breaking research leading to new treatments. However, without proper protections built into its foundation, the new HIT system could compromise the fundamental rights of citizens to protect and control sensitive personal health information, leading to distrust of the healthcare system and erosion of the patient-physician relationship. The stakes are high; this is not just about the future of healthcare and its reform, but whether individuals will be afforded proper and reasonable rights to control and share personal information in the digital age.
Summit Materials
Full Program including agenda, speakers and sponsors
2011 Health Privacy Summit Videos