Inclusion of ‘Social and Behavioral’ Data in Healt

[GURPS]

Government Seeking Inclusion of ‘Social and Behavioral’ Data in Health Records

Experts worry about security, use of such information​

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) wants to require health care providers to include “social and behavioral” data in Electronic Health Records (EHR) and to link patient’s records to public health departments, it was announced last week.

Health care experts say the proposal raises additional privacy concerns over Americans’ personal health information, on top of worries that the Obamacare “data hub” could lead to abuse by bureaucrats and identify theft.

The CMS currently covers 100 million people through Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Hospital Insurance Program and is tasked with running Obamacare.

According to a solicitation posted by the Department of Health and Human Services on Sept. 4, the CMS is commissioning the National Academy of Sciences to study how best to add social and behavioral factors to electronic health record reporting.

The agency said adding social and behavioral data to patients’ online records will improve health care.

 

[GURPS]

Though the program is “totally voluntary,” eligible professionals who are not using EHRs by 2015 will see a 1 percent reduction in their Medicare and Medicaid fees each year.

Jacobs says the government’s “pay for conformance” culture in health care is “telling doctors what they have to do and how they have to do it in order to receive government reimbursement.”

carrot and stick .... just like speed limits or seat belt laws

Others have warned that the database is vulnerable to abuse by the numerous government agencies involved, including the IRS, the Department of Homeland Security, state Medicaid databases, and the Social Security Administration.

The potential for social and behavioral data to be shared with government agencies is only more worrisome, Jacobs said.

“This study raises additional questions about the privacy and security implications of the federal government sharing personal health data with other organizations and entities,” he said.