ABSTRACT
The capability to share health information that will come from the adoption and use of electronic health records (EHR) and health information exchange has the potential to produce significant benefits to healthcare providers, patients, and the healthcare delivery system. Interoperable health information systems will also support critical public health functions, including real-time case reporting, disease surveillance, and disaster response and can support data aggregation for research, which will lead to improved clinical 106guidelines and practices. In addition, interoperability will also support the integration of administrative and clinical data to enable value-based payment. However, networked electronic records also create privacy risks, such as the loss of patients’ control over their health information and misuse of information, as well as the potential for security breaches. Many fear that such risks, if realized, might lead to a loss of patients’ trust in their doctors and the healthcare delivery system. This chapter will explore the privacy risks associated with health information exchange and approaches to mitigating these risks.
