title: Keeping our patients' secrets.
abstract: Protecting the privacy of the patient's medical record is a central issue in current discussions about a patient bill of rights, and controversy over a proposed "unique health identifier" has raised the decibel level of these discussions. At the heart of the debate is how best to resolve the inherent conflict between the individual's right to privacy and the need for access to patients' health information for reasons of public health, research, and health care management.
authors.affiliation: Division of Health Affairs, Cleveland Clinic, USA.
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Clough
authors.forename: D W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Rowan
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Nickelson
mesh_terms: D002961:Civil Rights / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D003195:Computer Communication Networks; D016494:Computer Security; D003219:Confidentiality; D020408:Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act; D006801:Humans; D008329:Managed Care Programs; D008499:Medical Records; D018907:Privacy / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D012106:Research; D014481:United States