How secure are my medical records? The issue of privacy.

[cellboy]

This morning I was off to Kaiser to donate my blood for my cholesterol, blood sugar screening. Boy! Since Kaiser got out of chapter 11, a few yrs ago. What a system! Totally computerized. Every doctor examining room, has a state of the art computer. Your records are there. In fact I can access my records, results, reorder my prescriptions, etc, on line, via my password and PIN. Such a streamlined system! So futuristic. But as posted in my previous post about the security of our voting system, who's to say that someone can't go though the "Back Door" and access my records. What about privacy? My future privacy.

Comments

[theoctothorpe.livejournal.com]

Well, the deal is "if it's on a network, it can be accessed", aka "the only "safe" data is in a harddrive on a turned-off computer at the bottom of the ocean, in a safe, guarded by sharks."

However you can't equate the voting machines with Kaiser's data network. Chances are pretty good that Kaiser is *far* more concerned about security than Diebold is about making sure your vote is anonymous, and counts.

Things to look for:

Make sure you're not entering your social security number as a Personal Identifier. They're not a government entity. If they want one, you can request they use a different unique identifier.

Make sure the site you're using is encrypted. Look at the certificate. When you're done, click "log out" on the page, then quit the browser. Never use a pubic terminal for *anything* except reading CNN, or other site that doesn't involve you logging in. Never click a link in an email and enter data on that page. It's possible the email was faked, and the page you're on is set up to record your username/password.

In the end, shit happens. For the most part, it's totally out of your control, but you can be aware of what you're doing. Don't do stupid things.