Audio Judge says Health Department can collect medical records (story audio) More from MPR Data privacy vs. public health (10/04/2002) Resources Read the ruling Respond to this story Talk about this story in the MPR News Forum Submit a commentary Help us cover this story

Judge says Health Department can collect medical records
by Tom Scheck, Minnesota Public Radio
December 2, 2002

An administrative law judge has ruled that the Minnesota Health Department can move forward with plans to collect medical information on nearly every Minnesotan. The department has proposed collecting information, including names, birth dates and diagnoses, to help in treating illnesses around the state. Several groups testified against the proposal because they believed it violated patient privacy.

St. Paul, Minn. — Judge Allan Klein wrote in his 37-page opinion that the Health Department is following state law and has taken the necessary precautions to ensure that patient privacy will be protected. "There is no system of reasonable safeguards that will satisfy both the needs of researchers and the concerns of all the public," Klein wrote. Klein concluded that those who had concerns about the ruling should take their concerns to the Legislature.

The Health Department's Dave Orren says he's pleased with the ruling. He says the department will take the necessary steps to protect patient information. He says officials plan to use the data to treat broad problems, not to see if an individual has a specific illness.

"This is a complex issue," Orren said. "And I only hope that when people look at it they look at both privacy risks and health care benefits, that they look at the actual risks not the ones that they're afraid of."

Orren's assurances have not eased the concerns of several groups. A number of people testified at an October hearing that they feared their information would become public. Others said they just didn't want the Health Department examining their information. Dr. Paul Sanders, executive director of the Minnesota Medical Association says the Health Department has taken steps to address his initial concerns. But he's concerned that the doctor/patient relationship could be harmed.

"When a patient comes to see a physician they're trusting that that relationship will be private and confidential," Sanders said. "We are very concerned that there be no release of data of patients in such a way that that patient is further harmed or embarrassed because they've been to see their physician," Sanders said.

Twila Brase, with Citizen's Council on Health Care, says she's disappointed that Judge Klein didn't fully consider her concerns about patient privacy when he made his ruling. She said patients should have the right to opt out of any data collection.

"Clearly the public wrote in and said they totally disagree and oppose this ruling and they weren't convinced by any public good assertions," Brase said. "So I would say that the public believes that their good is advanced by protecting control of their private information."

Brase says she'll lobby lawmakers to change or modify some of the rules in the next legislative session. Attorney General Mike Hatch also urged lawmakers to eliminate the portion of the law that allows for the data collection. Hatch says he doesn't think the Health Department needs to gather a large amount of the information it intends to. He says the department should collect medical data but not information such as a name and social security number that would tie the data to a specific person.

"Health data for 3500 years has been considered private and confidential," Hatch said. "You can say anything you want to your physician. The phyisician can ask any questions and that data has always been considered private and not to be shared with other parties. Now because of this law we're going to have government agencies receiving our health data with our namew without our consent and I just think that is wrong"

While lawmakers consider making changes to the rules, several health organizations say the database will have tremendous benefit. Dr. Richard Woellner with the Minnesota chapter of the American Lung Association says the database could help them treat specific diseases. ""It will enable to do several things, one take asthma for example, to see how much asthma there is," Woellner said. "Is it increasing? Is it decreasing? Is it related to specific population groups?"

Judge Klein recommended several small changes to the rules. The Health Department says it will make the changes and then submit the report to the chief adminstrative law judge for final approval. Governor Ventura would then have two weeks to sign or veto the proposed rules. A spokesman says Ventura hasn't had serious problems with the overall concept but won't make a decision until he has a final briefing.

News Headlines

Related Subjects