Medical Privacy
Public Opinion PollsPublic Attitudes and Interesting Facts
2005 California HealthCare Foundation and the Health Privacy Project Poll
Source: Forrester Research, National Consumer Health Privacy Survey 2005 (2005)
- 67% on national respondents are concerned about the privacy of their personal medical records.
- 52% fear that their health insurance information might be used by employers to limit job opportunities.
- Only 30% are willing to share their personal health information with health professionals not directly involved in their case.
- As few as 27% are willing to share their medical records with drug companies.
2005 Program on Information Technology, Health Records and Privacy Poll
Source: Harris Interactive, How the Public Sees Medical Records and an EMR Program (pdf) (2005)
- 70% of adults are worried that sensitive health information might leak because of weak data security.
- 62% of adults are concerned that the existing federal health privacy rules protecting patient information will be reduced in the name of efficiency.
- 69% believe strong enough data security will not be installed in the new National Health Information Network (NHIN) being proposed considered by the federal government.
- 14% of the public now believe their personal medical information has been released improperly.
2004 Harris Interactive Poll
Source: Harris Interactive, Survey on Medical Privacy (pdf) (2004)
- 68% of consumers feel the trend toward the healthcare system moving to keep medical records electronically raises threats to their privacy.
- 66% are concerned about security breaches.
- 78% feel it is very important that their medical records be kept confidential.
2000 Institute for Health Freedom Poll
Source: Gallup Poll, Public Attitudes Toward Medical Privacy (2000)
- 78% feel it is very important that their medical records be kept confidential.
- 93% say that medical and government researchers should not be allowed to study an individual's genetic information unless they first obtain his or her consent.
- 92% oppose allowing government agencies to see their medical records without their permission.
- 82% object to insurance companies gaining access without permission.
- 67% oppose researchers seeing their medical records without the patient's permission.
- 91% oppose a federal requirement to assign everyone a medical identification number, similar to a Social Security number, to create a national medical database.
1999 California HealthCare Foundation Poll
Source: Princeton Survey Research Associates, Medical Privacy and Confidentiality Survey (1999)
- 55% of adults worry about the privacy security of a computerized health record system.
- 61% would not give access to their medical records to an employer interviewing them for jobs.
- Only 35% trust health care plans to maintain confidentiality all or most of the time.
- Only 33% trust government programs, such as Medicare, to maintain confidentiality all or most of the time.
1994 ACLU Poll
Source: ACLU, Live and Let Live (1994)
- 69% think it is none of their employers' business whether the employee has ever seen a psychiatrist or psychological counselor.
- 75% are concerned a "great deal" or "fair amount" about health insurance companies putting medical information about them into a computer information bank that others have access to.
- 70% are concerned a "great deal" or "fair amount" about insurance companies getting more information about them than is needed from their doctor.
- 55% are concerned a "great deal" or "fair amount" about their employer giving information about them to their health insurance company.
- 60% believe that health insurance data is accessed by others for secondary uses.
- 64% believe that insurance companies are getting more information from their doctor than is needed.
- 51% believe that their employers are giving employee data to health insurers.
1993 Lou Harris Poll
Source: Harris Equifax, Health Information Privacy Survey (1993)
- 85% believe that protecting the confidentiality of medical records is "absolutely essential" or "very important" in health care reform.
- 56% favor new comprehensive legislation to protect the privacy of medical records as opposed to continuing with existing state and federal laws and professional standards.
- 41% believe that medical claims submitted under an employer health plan may be seen by their employer and used to affect their job opportunities.
- 60% believe that it is not acceptable for medical information about them to be provided, without their individual approval, by pharmacists to direct marketers who want to mail offers to new medications.
- 64% do not want medical researchers to use their records for studies, even if the individual is never identified personally, unless researchers first get the individual's consent.
- 75% worry that medical information from a computerized national health information system will be used for many non-health purposes. 38% are very concerned.
- 96% say that it is important that individuals have the legal right to obtain a copy of their own medical record.
- 96% believe that federal legislation should designate all personal medical information as "sensitive" and impose penalties for unauthorized disclosure.
- 86% favor creating a "national medical privacy board" to "hold hearings, issue regulations, and enforce standards" for protecting medical information privacy.
- 94% believe that information processing companies hired by the government should be chosen on "the basis of a proved record of protecting the confidentiality and security of the personal records they handle."
- 25% report that they or member of their family have personally paid for a medical test, treatment, or counseling rather than submit a bill or claim under a health care plan or program.
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