Im really on the fence with this one.

On the plus side the ability of a doctor in a trauma center somehwere to insert your memory stick in a slot and pull up your records and see your health history including allergies, meds. previous imagry etc.

On the other side look at how many laptops have gone missing at Los Alamos. You are talking about a place that has strict security measures and stuff still get out. This would be a disaster if it were your information. HIPPA laws have already imped care in my experience and the requirements for this type of record may make things worse.

Also, your medical records are just that YOUR records. So if you move you can get copies to take with you. Most people do not and that seems to be the overall mentality. Most people approach thier healthcare like sheeps, sitting around waiting for stuff to filter down to them. Its your health you need to be proactive. If you are going to act like sheeple, you will get sheered

I can agree with sentiments echoed on this thread already, as it is too easy for someone to not only steal or hack into important information, but to get login passwords. If companies like Google cannot even have fool proof email passwords and such, what is the barrier to stop someone from stealing medical records?

FredT makes an interesting point about the laptops being stolen from Los Alamos, which compounds the issue further. That is, what are the ethical issues involved when other people have easy access to others medical records via electronic means. However, something which concerns me quite a bit more is the potential for data loss. I am no expert in computer science, nor would I ever claim to be, but it seems to me that the potential for losing important data whether it be through computer crashes, network inaccessiability would skyrocket. I know that the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act does make provisions for this in most instances, but the loss of this data has the possibility to cause irreprehensible harm in some instances.

There are positives and negatives on both sides of the issue, but until this vital electronic information becomes fully inaccessable to the threat of hackers and theives I reverberate the old Tim Allen adage..."If it ain't broke, don't fix it".