Undisciplined, Unpunished
Civil Liberties Union
Our nation’s health care system is in a period of rapid and dramatic change—the way that our health information is stored and shared is a big part of that transformation. Many health-care providers are already using electronic health records to store patients’ medical information. If your doctor isn’t doing it now, she will. States and the federal government are developing electronic networks that will allow that information to be shared by all health care providers. In New York State, networks run by regional health information organizations (RHIOs) are already allowing health care providers to share patient information among participating providers within those regions. Eventually, these networks will be linked by the New York State Health Information Network. At the same time, the federal government is developing networks that will allow records to be shared across the nation.