Anyone using the web knows that privacy is a vanishing commodity. To me, privacy means that no one can know anything about you without your consent. Most people can find out things about us that we ourselves have forgotten or perhaps never knew.
Public records of private matters are a prime example. Of course, government public record is one thing, but when public records reveal personal information, no one should have access to them without our consent. This, I believe, should also be true of credit bureaus. No one should be permitted to access our information without our consent and we should be notified each time there is in inquiry and the inquiring party identified. How else can we be certain that our most personal information is not being used for malicious purposes. Aren't the people who give our information to credit bureaus also violating our privacy?
The other extreme is health record privacy. Records pertaining to "health" should, of course, be protected. But not all information about a patient is health related yet the privacy question is at work. An example of this is a bill we have been getting from a health care provider for over a year. This amount should have been paid by our insurer. The charges are for my wife but when I call to determine whether or not the amount was paid, they won't talk to me unless they speak with her first. It is doubly disturbing since we submitted the necessary authorization forms which allows me to speak for her over eight months ago. I can't believe this kind of information is what is intended in health record privacy.
When we hear of confidential information being stolen by hackers, we know we must be careful. Public records of a personal nature make their job a lot easier. Even if there is no way to avoid access to this information, the inquirer should be identified and the person notified.
That's how I feel about it.
Public records of private matters are a prime example. Of course, government public record is one thing, but when public records reveal personal information, no one should have access to them without our consent. This, I believe, should also be true of credit bureaus. No one should be permitted to access our information without our consent and we should be notified each time there is in inquiry and the inquiring party identified. How else can we be certain that our most personal information is not being used for malicious purposes. Aren't the people who give our information to credit bureaus also violating our privacy?
The other extreme is health record privacy. Records pertaining to "health" should, of course, be protected. But not all information about a patient is health related yet the privacy question is at work. An example of this is a bill we have been getting from a health care provider for over a year. This amount should have been paid by our insurer. The charges are for my wife but when I call to determine whether or not the amount was paid, they won't talk to me unless they speak with her first. It is doubly disturbing since we submitted the necessary authorization forms which allows me to speak for her over eight months ago. I can't believe this kind of information is what is intended in health record privacy.
When we hear of confidential information being stolen by hackers, we know we must be careful. Public records of a personal nature make their job a lot easier. Even if there is no way to avoid access to this information, the inquirer should be identified and the person notified.
That's how I feel about it.
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