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The Right to Privacy

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Personal interest in the right to privacy has intensified in recent years along with the rapid development of new technologies. A century later, these concerns remain, but many others have joined them. Advances in information and communications technology have increased our ability to collect, store and transmit data about individuals. While these advances could be considered useful, some see them as a situation where anyone can watch and record the actions of every individual, and where the individual has lost control over information about herself and thus over her very life. As a reaction to these concerns, new regulations have been formulated to define the rights of individuals and the limits on the use of technology with respect to personal information.
Among the categories of personal information, health information is of particular interest for a number of reasons including their sensitivity and serious risks for personal privacy. Also referred to as Protected Health Information, Personal Health Information (PHI) is a set of data collected by a health care professional to identify an individual and determine appropriate care. Specifically, these data include demographic information, medical history, test and laboratory results, and insurance information. Names, social security numbers, addresses, and birth dates are common identifiers of health information. Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), revised in 2009,

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