NEGATIVE - DISADVANTAGE — PRIVACY HURTS SECURITY — LAW ENFORCEMENT AND CRIME DAMAGED 209

EXAMPLE: MEDICAL RECORDS

QUICK ACCESS TO MEDICAL RECORDS IS ESSENTIAL TO APPREHEND CRIMINALS ON THE RUN

Stuart A. VanMeveren USA TODAY, August 20, 1999, SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 14A TITLE: Don't hinder crime-fighting // acs-EE2001

If some of the medical-privacy provisions now before Congress were in effect last spring when police were hunting the arsonist who set fire to least 10 churches in Ohio, Indiana and Georgia and caused the death of a firefighter, the perpetrator, now behind bars, would not have been apprehended. Quick access to medical information was the key.

GETTING A WARRANT FOR MEDICAL RECORDS WILL MAKE LAW ENFORCEMENT MUCH MORE DIFFICULT

USA TODAY, August 20, 1999, SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 14A TITLE: Congress fails to repair breaches in access to health records // acs-EE2001

Open access to medical records can help law enforcement agencies battle fraud and abuse in public health programs, for instance. But the agencies would not be significantly hindered by having to get a judge's approval before raiding records.

PRIVACY PROTECTIONS MAKE IT HARDER TO APPREHEND AND CONVICT CRIMINALS

Stuart A. VanMeveren USA TODAY, August 20, 1999, SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 14A TITLE: Don't hinder crime-fighting // acs-EE2001

The National District Attorneys Association opposes those provisions of medical-records-privacy legislation that serve no useful public purpose, but instead would hamper law-enforcement efforts to detect, apprehend and prosecute criminals. Under provisions of some of the legislation currently before Congress:

Medical facilities might be prohibited from notifying police when an individual fitting the description of a wounded suspect fleeing a crime scene comes in for treatment, or if a suspect known to have a health problem appears in an emergency room or doctor's office.

Delays favoring the criminal could make obtaining justice even more difficult. Under normal procedures, we now must get a state warrant or subpoena before obtaining medical records, even for those of a suspected murderer or rapist -- a procedure we agree with except in emergency situations. Proposed legislation would allow an approved state warrant or subpoena to be appealed to federal court, delaying the collection of evidence.

State laws designed to protect crime victims and facilitate the prompt reporting of child abuse, domestic violence, violence against the elderly and suspicious wounds could be superseded.