title: Medical privacy and its value for patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To review privacy issues of medical information and current legal guidelines.
  
  
  METHODS
  Government regulations and reports.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients must have trust and confidence that the health care system will safeguard their health information and that it will not be used to discriminate against them through insurance or employment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Health care professionals must be sensitive to the privacy needs of patients during the collection and storage of data, the access to information, and the sharing of patient information.
authors.affiliation: Progressive Policy Strategies, 1090 Vermont Ave NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20005, USA.
authors.forename: Eileen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Meier
mesh_terms: D003219:Confidentiality / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D006801:Humans; D009859:Oncology Nursing