MN State Health Data System Hearing - Citizen Testimony #5

"Who would be accountable for any damages caused by a breach in privacy or erroneous or disappearing data?... If that does happen, when that does happen, who does have to be responsible for that? Who pays for that?"
—Margaret Minegar

Margaret Minegar presents her testimony and listens to panel responses at the June 28, 2011 public hearing on the statewide health data sharing system.


June 28, 2011—At least 16 citizens joined CCHF in a basement hearing room in downtown St. Paul to protest the implementation of a state health information system in Minnesota.

The hearing addressed the application from Emdeon to become a "Health Data Intermediary" (HDI) in Minnesota. As a HDI, Emdeon would act as the interchange for the sharing of private electronic medical records data. They would create a central database of clinical patient data which they would build as they conducted the data exchanges between payers (employers/health plans/government) and providers (doctors, x-ray facilities, laboratories, clinics, hospitals, pharmaceutical benefit managers, long-term care, community clinics, etc.).

The costs of this endeavor are unclear.

The Minnesota Department of Health appeared noticeably surprised by the number of citizens in attendance at this virtually unpublicized hearing. Half of the citizens there as a result of CCHF's notice went to the microphone and spoke out about the costs, the data, the lack of consent, the privacy issues, and the potential errors within the data being shared.

See the CitizensCouncilHC videos for more testimonies from the hearing.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• health
• Minnesota
• CCHF
• public hearing
• St. Paul
• MDH
• HDI
• Emdeon
• patient data
• payers
• providers
• privacy errors
• privacy