Implementation of HIT and HIE raises important policy issues of how to best maintain the privacy and security of patients' health care information. NYHISPC - http://www.nyehealth.org/hispc - has laid some important groundwork on some of these issues, but much work still needs to be done. We look forward to your discussion about key issues that the HEAL projects face in developing privacy and security policies, and your thoughts on what actions are needed at the state level.

There's no one answer, but it does seem that the HIE effort generally is worrying about privacy and security from an industry-looking-out perspective, very institutional. However, HIE catapults the health care industry into the realm of Google, cookies, all that interconnected mumbo-jumbo.

Groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation or the Electronic Privacy Information Center need to be at the table now - shaping policy from a consumer perspective.

The public is already starting to fidget over the amount of identifiable data search engines know about them, they'll positively explode if HIE rolls out without solid governance and accountability.

We are part of BHIX (Brooklyn Heal Information Exchange) working first on a HEAL 1 grant and now with a HEAL 5 grant. BHIX is a network of health care agencies ranging from acute care hospitals to SNF's and homecare. The patients that participate sign an authorization allowing their information (a defined set of data elements) to be shared by the participants in the network whenever they move from one level of care to another. Privacy issues and patient education surrounding the program as well as building a comfort level with patients surrounding this sharing of information was and will always be a challenge.