Protecting patients’ health records is critical to ensuring their privacy and safety. With the increasing use of electronic health records and the rise in cyberattacks, there is a growing concern about the effectiveness of HIPAA in protecting patient information (Memmi, 2023). Two potential solutions are to provide a private right of action for improper disclosure and to incorporate the European “right to be forgotten and erased” into HIPAA.
The absence of a private right of action in HIPAA limits patients’ ability to enforce their privacy rights. Patients who have suffered harm from the unauthorized disclosure of their medical records must rely on the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (OCR) to investigate and penalize HIPAA violators. However, the OCR’s enforcement actions may not be sufficient to compensate patients for their losses or deter future HIPAA violations. HIPAA must grant patients a private right of action in case of health records disclosure harm. A private right of action would allow patients to sue healthcare providers for damages caused by HIPAA violations (Cohen, 2020). Moreover, a private right of action would incentivize healthcare providers to take HIPAA regulations seriously and adopt robust privacy and security measures to protect patients’ health information.
Incorporating the European “right to be forgotten and erased” into HIPAA is not recommended without carefully considering its potential impact on medical research, public health initiatives, and law enforcement investigations. While the right could allow patients more control over their health records, it may hinder the abovementioned activities, which are critical to the public interest. Therefore, weighing the benefits and drawbacks of incorporating this right into HIPAA is essential before deciding.
In conclusion, patients affected by unauthorized disclosure of their medical records should be given a private right of action under HIPAA. However, incorporating the European “right to be forgotten and erasure” into HIPAA should be carefully considered. It may have unintended consequences for medical research, public health initiatives, and law enforcement investigations. Balancing the benefits and drawbacks of such incorporation is crucial to protecting patients’ privacy rights without hindering vital public interests.
References
Cohen, D. (2020). HIPAA reform or a patchwork scheme: A look at preemption, scope, and the inclusion of a private right of action in a new federal data privacy law. Upper Level Writing Requirement Research Papers. 41. Web.
Memmi, G. (2023). Cyber attacks in healthcare: Why they matter and how to defend against them. British Journal of Healthcare Management, 29(1), 8-11. Web.