New Project Tackles Inherent Risks to Your Privacy From Electronic Medical Recordsselfnews Post You assume that the decision about when to disclose medical data like if youve had an abortion or have a serious heart condition is yours and yours alone. But that information may be circulated in the process of paying for and providing treatment, or as part of mandated reporting, said EFF Senior Staff Attorney Lee Tien. As the American medical establishment moves towards complete digitization of patient records, its important to take a hard look on what that means for everyones privacy, and what we should do about it. EFFs project explores the unsettled areas of medical privacy law and technology, including a primer on how law enforcement might get access to your health information, or how the government might be able to collect it by claiming that its necessary for national security. Theres also a detailed discussion of public health reporting systems and how federal health laws give patients some rights but take others away. EFF will add more topics in the months to come. EFFs work on the medical privacy project is supported by a grant from the Consumer Privacy Rights Fund of the Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment. For EFFs full medical privacy project: Contacts: Lee Tien Rainey Reitman 