Case Study

D10183956 Andre Payan

Google, Microsoft, and IBM: The Health of your Medical Records’ Privacy Case

MIS TR 11:30-2:50 Summer I 2012

6/19/2012

-------------------------------------------------

INTRODUCTION (5 Points)

During a typical trip to the doctor, folders and papers are used for the storage of medical records. Due to that making effective communication and access to the records are difficult. Americans make at least four trips to the doctor a year on average which means there are millions of paper medical records of thousands of local medical practices, making it hard for them to be systematically examined. This makes it hard for them to be shared. The good news is that this problem can be diminished by developing a nationwide health care system based on standardized record formats, and participation of all elements in health care provider industry. The Obama administration in Feb 2009 set aside $19 billion to fund a Health Information Technology program to computerize all health records by 2014.

-------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------

ISSUES/PROBLEMS (20 Points)

* Due to the new Health Information Technology program, the health of your personal privacy will probably decline. Example: Georgia Blue Cross had introduced a change in its medical information system without testing and sent thousands of patient records to the wrong fax machine in a neighboring state. The information got in the hands of a former billing clerk and he was arrested for stealing patient records and using the identities to steal from insurers. Example: In 2009, the Kaiser Permanente Bellflower Medical Center in Los Angeles was hit with a $187,500 fine for failing to prevent unauthorized access to confidential patient information—employees were improperly accessing the medical records of Nadya Suleman and her eight children.

SOLUTIONS (Taken by the company) (15 Points)

* In March 2008,...