Study finds blogging presents risk for patient privacy
HIPAA Weekly Advisor, August 4, 2008
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The results of a new study indicate that medical professionals using blogs to share knowledge may also be sharing too much patient information, according to a July 25 Government Health IT article.
The study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that bloggers rarely intend to reveal identifiable patient information, but often inadvertently provide sufficient detail to identify the patients in their discussions. “I don’t think it’s something these bloggers do consciously, and for the most part they seem to be committed to privacy standards,” Tara Lagu, MD, MPH, a Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholar and one of the study’s authors, told Government Health IT.
The study found that of 114 of the 271 blogs examined contained enough information to identify a patient. Lagu told Government Health IT that the main problem is lack of training for medical bloggers.
To read the Government Health IT article, click here.
Click here to learn how physicians can blog without violating patient privacy. The cost is $10. Briefings on HIPAA subscribers can sign on for free access.
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