Health Privacy Summit
Realtime notes from day 2 of the Health Privacy Summit http://2.healthca.mp/1Q9Br07 in Washington DC.
Reporting From the Front Lines: Privacy Violations by Powerful Authorities
Case Study: Protecting Privacy While Responding to the Public Health Threat of an Ebola Epidemic
Judge Clay Jenkins | Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Dallas County http://2.healthca.mp/1KcvR8v
The Whiteboard – Ebola Response
- Securing the immediate family of the victims
- Made a controversial privacy decision on first night based on information they were receiving.
In Ebola you get a temperature rise first. So monitoring temperature is critical. A restriction order was used to keep the family at home.
A contact of a contact can’t get you sick. But you need a contact trace to be performed.
Many Privacy issues in relation to First Responders. This has resulted in Law being established.
They provided minimal information (name, address, ssn) This was provided to core IT systems so that first responders would only be warned if they are called to a relevant place or person.
You have to balance first responder needs and concerns.
Lessons Learned:
Two nurses got sick. Some of their health information leaked out.
- Words really matter.
- Leaders set the tone
- Follow the Science
- If we quarantine beyond the need of science then you disincentivize doctors from helping.
- Treat the subjects at the center of an outbreak as you would want your family to be treated.
The Closer you get Government to the people the better chance you have to make things work and have Government be more responsive.
You can fire your local judge, mayor etc. You can’t fire the person in a state-wide agency. So embed privacy officers at the local level.
In the Dallas Ebola outbreak the Hospital released the name. The Judge referred to him as Patient Zero to respect privacy.
Remember that the villain is the disease (Ebola) and not the victims or the care givers.
[category News, Health]
[tag health cloud, bluebutton, hdpalooza]
Mark Scrimshire
Mark is available for challenging assignments at the intersection of Health and Technology using Big Data, Mobile and Cloud Technologies. If you need help to move, or create, your health applications in the cloud let’s talk.
Blog: http://2.healthca.mp/1b61Q7M
email: mark@ekivemark.com
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Disclosure:
I am currently HHS Entrepreneur-in-Residence working on an assignment to update BlueButton for Medicare Beneficiaries. This involves creating a Data API. Watch out for more about BlueButton on FHIR.
The views expressed on this blog are my own.
I am also a Patient Engagement Advisor, CTO and Co-Founder to Medyear.com. Medyear is a powerful free tool that helps you collect, organize and securely share health information, however you want. Manage your own health records today.
Medyear: Less Hassle, Better Care.
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