NEGATIVE — MEDICAL — SIGNIFICANCE 241

IT IS TOO LATE TO PROTECT MEDICAL PRIVACY

THE BATTLE FOR HEALTH PRIVACY HAS ALREADY BEEN LOST

Julie Appleby, USA TODAY, March 23, 2000, SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 1A TITLE: File safe? Health records may not be confidential // acs-VT2001

"In many respects, the battle for health privacy has already been lost," says Robert Gellman, a Washington, D.C., privacy consultant and member of the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics.

"Of all the records about you that are maintained by third parties, health records are the most widely circulated," says Gellman, "more than financial records, school records, even video rental records."