Protection Of Medical Records Urged

Donna Shalala, the secretary of Health and Human Services, urged Congress Thursday to set comprehensive federal standards to protect the confidentiality of medical records. But she said lawmakers must not “interfere with the well-established procedures of the criminal justice system.”

And in a report to Congress, she said that intelligence agencies, as well as law enforcement officers, should have access to patients’ records, unfettered by any new restrictions.

Shalala said her proposals would not broaden police officers’ access to medical records, but merely codify current practices, which are not regulated by the federal government.