Navigating State Health Data Laws Without Compromising Patient Safety

By the EHR Association Patient Safety and Public Policy Leadership Workgroups

In Part One of this series, we examined the policy implications of the labyrinth of state-level privacy and consent regulations and their effects on physicians and other clinicians, health IT developers, and patients. In Part Two, we look at the challenges clinicians face in complying with diverse state laws while maintaining patient safety.

The core of the Hippocratic Oath, as taken by physicians, is to “advocate for the sick, respect patient confidentiality, and abstain from harm.” What Hippocrates could not have predicted, however, was the critical role that patient information would play in enabling physicians and other clinicians to fulfill their obligations and commitments to provide care and to do no harm. 

Restricting appropriate access to, or exchange of, essential health information can impair a clinician’s ability to provide safe and effective care. Conversely, exposing sensitive patient information beyond the care team may compromise confidentiality and introduce complications for the patient. Interestingly, these are two sides of the same coin: policy requirements that could pose potential risks to patient safety.