Forget Medical Privacy
Want to put your doctor's stethoscope in a twist? Ask them to hand over a complete copy of your medical records. Then watch as they nervously demur, citing state laws, cost, and fuzzy hospital policies.
Jamie Heywood wants those obstacles legislated out of existence so we can access our own health data almost as easily as ordering a pizza. And he hopes consumers will in turn share that data with one another via online communities such as PatientsLikeMe, which he cofounded in 2004.
"Privacy has been used as an excuse by those who have a vested interest in hoarding this information," Heywood says. He believes that the real reason hospitals jealously guard medical records is they don't want to open themselves up to second-guessing from patients—or patients' lawyers. And that lack of openness, Heywood argues, is making us sicker: With data scarce, there's no clear way for physicians to know what treatments are working for other practitioners.
