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Editorial
. 2022 Dec 13;30(1):155-160.
doi: 10.1093/jamia/ocac155.

Dobbs and the future of health data privacy for patients and healthcare organizations

Ellen Wright Clayton  1   2   3 , Peter J Embí  4   5 , Bradley A Malin  4   6   7
Affiliations
Editorial

Dobbs and the future of health data privacy for patients and healthcare organizations

Ellen Wright Clayton et al. J Am Med Inform Assoc. .

Erratum in

Abstract

The Supreme Court recently overturned settled case law that affirmed a pregnant individual's Constitutional right to an abortion. While many states will commit to protect this right, a large number of others have enacted laws that limit or outright ban abortion within their borders. Additional efforts are underway to prevent pregnant individuals from seeking care outside their home state. These changes have significant implications for delivery of healthcare as well as for patient-provider confidentiality. In particular, these laws will influence how information is documented in and accessed via electronic health records and how personal health applications are utilized in the consumer domain. We discuss how these changes may lead to confusion and conflict regarding use of health information, both within and across state lines, why current health information security practices may need to be reconsidered, and what policy options may be possible to protect individuals' health information.

Keywords: consumer informatics; electronic medical records; privacy.

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References

    1. Supreme Court of the United States. Dobbs, State Health Officer of the Mississippi Department of Health, et al. v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization et al. Argued December 1, 2021. Decided June 24, 2022.
    1. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Abortion Is Essential Health Care. https://www.acog.org/advocacy/abortion-is-essential. Accessed September 3, 2022.
    1. Public Policy Office. Abortion policy in the absence of Roe. Guttmacher Institute. July 1, 2022. https://www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/abortion-policy-absence-roe. Accessed September 3, 2022.
    1. Sasani A. What’s happening in the states? Here’s the latest on which abortion laws are in effect and which are blocked. New York Times. July 1, 2022. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/01/us/abortion-bans-laws-blocked-us-stat.... Accessed September 3, 2022.
    1. Ollstein AM, Messerly M. Missouri wants to stop out-of-state abortions. Other states could follow. Politico. March 19, 2022. https://www.politico.com/news/2022/03/19/travel-abortion-law-missouri-00.... Accessed September 3, 2022.