Resources for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)

Health data storage sites might not be secure

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The World Privacy Forum is warning consumers about the potential pitfalls of using newly popular services that consolidate personal health records - especially when they're kept by companies that are not subject to current federal regulations on privacy and security.

"Consumers need to know that not all (vendors) protect privacy in the same way," said Pam Dixon, executive director of the San Diego nonprofit group, which is issuing its report today. "Some can undermine consumer privacy in serious and unexpected ways."

Personal health records are a growing market, and non-health-care companies, such as Microsoft, are starting to offer services based on the idea that consumers should be in charge of their own health information. Meanwhile, both the state and the federal government are working toward networked health information.

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