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Posted on 01/10/2006 8:42:26 PM PST by FairOpinion
New York City is starting to monitor the blood sugar levels of its diabetic residents, marking the first time any government in the United States has begun tracking people with a chronic disease.
Under the program, the city is requiring laboratories to report the results of blood sugar tests directly to the health department, which will use the data to study the disease and to prod doctors and patients when levels run too high.
Some public health experts, ethicists and privacy advocates, however, say that the initiative raises serious concerns about confidentiality and is an alarming government intrusion into people's medical care.
But the New York effort marks the first time any government has required routine reporting of laboratory test results for a major chronic, noninfectious disease so that government officials can scrutinize how well doctors and patients are treating it.
The plan has alarmed privacy advocates, particularly because the information is being collected without first getting patients' consent.
"It's an incredible invasion to privacy to have your sensitive medical information grabbed by the city of New York," said Robin Kaigh, a New York lawyer who opposes the effort. "It shocks the conscience that they are not even required to tell you this is happening."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Yet, there is no outrage about THIS egregious invasion of privacy.
NYC have a program to track homos with AIDS?
As long as they don't monitor people with AIDS, it is OK. /s
Ping
Isn't this illegal search and seizure?
The government is seizing information about you, that you are not giving them permission to get.
What right to privacy?
/sarcasm
I guess you only have right to privacy when you are planning to blow up the Brooklyn Bridge.
Health related, if you care.
Surprisingly, yes:
"A New York State (NYS) law implemented on June 1, 2000, mandates that health-care providers report by name all persons with newly diagnosed HIV infection, HIV illness, or AIDS."
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5251a2.htm
You, Mr. Smith, are not a productive element society and do not need your medicine.
The path reminds me of that Twilight Zone episode where the Librian is deemed "obsolete", and thus eliminated from society.
This type of invasive tracking can have no positive outcome.
http://www.doctordeluca.com/Library/PublicHealth/FessingUpToDocCostsLicense04.htm
Interesting story here too, man looses drivers license for TELLING physcian his drinking habbits.
What a bunch of jokers our gov officials are!
Libertarian ping.To be added or removed from my ping list freepmail me or post a message here
btw, this article is pretty amazing, if you consider how amny have died because of FDA prevention of a aids hometesting kit....
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/13/health/13aids.html?ex=1137042000&en=d4d6879a3d0024e3&ei=5070
of course, gov was just 'protecting' them...
Exactly. Or you'll be punished if your blood sugar doesn't stay in the approved range.
"Government concern often shifts to government coercion," Mariner said. "Today we're telling people what you should do voluntarily. Tomorrow it may be we're telling you what to do or you'll be penalized."
Not to mention the HUGE invasion of privacy.
Monitoring COMMUNICABLE diseases makes sense, they are indeed protecting the public.
But conditions that are not contagious do not harm others and it's none of the government's business. It should be between the patient and the doctor.
I take it that was a rhetorical question?
I would have thought that HIPAA was supposed to protect our privacy.
http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/
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