Model PHR Privacy Notice Available
Helps Consumers Compare Personal Health Record VendorsThe model is intended to provide a template for privacy information, much as the nutrition labels on food, Jodi Daniel, ONC's director of policy and planning, said at a Health IT Policy Committee meeting this week. She says three vendors have committed to using the voluntary model: Microsoft HealthVault, Dossia and NoMoreClipboard.com
The ONC website describes the two goals of the project as "To increase consumers' awareness of PHR companies' data practices; and to empower consumers by providing them with an easy way to compare the data practices of two or more PHR companies."
The site includes:
- A background document about the project;
- A model privacy notice template;
- An implementation guide;
- A reference manual for consumers.
The background document notes the PHR Model Privacy Notice "provides a uniform and easy-to-understand approach for PHR companies to be transparent about certain key privacy and security issues. By making this model notice available, PHR companies can help build greater trust in PHRs and promote competition on policies that are more consumer-protective."
Unlike an electronic health record, which is created and maintained by a healthcare provider, a personal health record enables a patient to maintain and manage their health information from multiple sources, including data they enter themselves.