Lou Minatti thinks it may:
One item buried in Porkulus that is receiving minimal press coverage:
What didn’t come up during the president’s first press conference was how one section of the convoluted legislation–it’s approximately 800 pages total–is intended to radically reshape the nation’s medical system by having the government establish computerized medical records that would follow each American from birth to death.
Billions will be handed to companies creating these databases. Billions will be handed to universities to incorporate patient databases “into the initial and ongoing training of health professionals.” There’s a mention of future “smart card functionality.”
Yet nowhere in this 140-page portion of the legislation does the government anticipate that some Americans may not want their medical histories electronically stored, shared, and searchable. Although a single paragraph promises that data-sharing will “be voluntary,” there’s no obvious way to opt out.Those considering running for office should be very careful about this. Famous bloggers who use their real names (Kos, Glenn Reynolds, etc.) should be concerned by this. Small-time bloggers who criticize crooked local politicians should be concerned by this. You think my concern is overblown? Need I remind you:
Government computers used to find information on Joe the Plumber
Investigators trying to determine whether access was illegal
Friday, October 24, 2008 8:57 PMState and local officials are investigating if state and law-enforcement computer systems were illegally accessed when they were tapped for personal information about “Joe the Plumber.”
You may recall that this blog was founded largly based on outrage over what happened when Joe dared to ask a question. But at least his “incriminating” information was a) not that bad, and b) pretty much public record already.
Imagine if the next Joe the Plumber has his entire medical records spread out for the world to see. An STD he contracted when he was in college. Cosmetic surgery. Hemorrhoids. If a man, erectile dysfunction. If it’s a woman, her full gynocological records. And what’s the result- maybe a low level government worker gets some kind of slap on the wrist for abusing that power. And the public would learn pretty quickly to just keep quiet.
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