Specifically, the administration plans to revoke a requirement that patients give written permission before their medical records can be disclosed to doctors, hospitals, pharmacies, and insurance companies -- safeguards seen by many, including the Health Privacy Project, as the core of the Clinton privacy rules. Under the new plan, medical providers may use patients' records as long as they inform patients of their privacy rights and request written acknowledgement from them, even after the records have been used. As the Washington Post points out, the key change in this policy is that control of the records is shifted from the patient to the provider.
Tommy Thompson, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), announced the proposal in a press release on March 21, 2002, arguing that the changes would ensure privacy while improving access to care.
The new proposal would also allow parents to have access to medical records of their children, such as information about mental health, abortion, and treatment for drug and alcohol abuse -- which privacy advocates argue will prohibit some teens from seeking medical treatment in those sensitive areas. According to the New York Times, the Bush administration proposal makes it clear that state law governs disclosures to parents.
Some parts of the original Clinton standards -- which were initially suspended by the administration -- are retained in the Bush proposal. In particular, patients will have the right to inspect their own medical records and possibly offer corrections.