Good reporting. One potential abuse not mentioned is changing online records to the detriment of the patient. Medical professionals can do this but also others with nefarious objectives. The Paul Newman film "the Verdict" was about changed medical records. There's an analogy to the comment by Beth Givens concerning government. Both Plato and Aristotle agreed that the "least worst form of government is democracy. It is least capable of excellence, but rule of the many prevents the worst cases, at least in theory.
[From article]
"When things go wrong, they can really go wrong," says Beth Givens, director of the nonprofit Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, which tracks data breaches. "Even the most well-designed systems are not safe. ... This case is a good example of how the human element is the weakest link."
[. . .]
In the wrong hands, health records can be used for blackmail and public humiliation. The information can also be used by insurance companies to inflate rates, or by employers to deny job applicants.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_TEC_MEDICAL_DATA_MINEFIELD?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-08-21-16-33-57
Aug 21, 4:33 PM EDT
New data spill shows risk of online health records
By JORDAN ROBERTSON
AP Technology Writer
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