This sounds like a discussion from an ethics course, where we have a discordance between conflicting principles.
As physicians, we are trained to be patient advocates. We don't usually step back and look at the big picture--at least those in private practice. It takes researches in the CDC etc to address group concerns etc. So I see this as a public health policy issue. "Rights" can be seen as universal (the "right" to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness), or perhaps granted--the "rights" of those in China differ from our "rights". It often seems to come down to "might is right". The government has the might, and thus dictates the rights. But I think that many want to do the correct/right thing for the majority of people. Does the "right" of privacy outweigh the need for others to be safe? I think not. Thus I would understand manditory reporting of HIV (and especially not that it is not seen so much like 'leprosy' from the bible, and more like cancer.) But I agree with Nancy that collecting HgbA1c's is an unreasonable breach of privacy. But to be honest, I think that privacy is nebulus concept that is rapidly being stripped away. We carry cell phones--> our movement can be tracked. We watch TiVo TV--> our watching habits can be tracked. Even our searches on Google are being tracked. I read in Wired Magazine about thermal imaging techniques were people outside one's home can thermally image those inside. I can anticipate times where we all have to acknowledge that it becomes nigh unto impossible to keep secrets. Kevin On 2/16/06, Ruben Safir <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > On Thu, 2006-02-16 at 15:49 -0400, Joseph Conn wrote: > > I'm with you, Nancy. The road to Hell is paved with good intentions and > > I'm surprised I haven't heard the ACLU filing an injunction against NYC > > on this program. Since diabetes is not contagious, I don't think that > > because the city may end up paying the cost of care for some of its > > citizens gives it the right to snoop on all of its citizens. > > > What is this? Your making a bald faced lie here. You know as well as > anyone on this list that the costs here is not just a few dollars, but > money that runs into the BILLIONS not to mention the real morbitiy and > mortality. > > But what do you care? Your not a minority poor from Brownsville, or a > tax payer of the city of New York so its no sweat off your back. > > Disguesting.... > > > This > > program isn't a slippery slope in my book, it's a toboggan run. > > > > Joseph Conn > > Staff writer > > Modern Healthcare > > Modern Physician > > Heatlh IT Strategist > > 312-649-5395 > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > Check out the NEW ModernPhysician.com, and register now for Modern > > Physician Stat and Modern Physician Alert > > > > >>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] 2/16/2006 1:27 PM >>> > > Most if not all health departments require that contacts be notified. > > They > > just don't allow the contact to be told who had the positive HIV test > > without > > permission. > > > > I don't think anyone who has a positive HIV test is a priori a > > murderer. > > > > If someone in NYC hears the Health Department is collecting this data > > and does > > not want a Health Department envelope arriving in his mailbox, he has > > no way > > to stop that at the moment. He cannot contact the Health Department > > until > > they contact him by mail. If he wishes to keep the fact he has > > diabetes to > > himself, that makes it very difficult if someone else uses the same > > mailbox. > > > > And collecting every A1C that has been done does not even invade the > > privacy > > of just the diabetics. I am sure it is much easier just to grab all of > > the > > data than it is to write the programs to sort out all the A1Cs above 7, > > so > > they took the easy out. This represents a little more sliding down > > that > > slippery slope and the program is just getting started! > > > > > > On Thursday 16 February 2006 13:29, Ruben Safir wrote: > > On Thu, 2006-02-16 at 12:07, Nancy Anthracite wrote: > > > I have been working with the CDC with an eye to include in VistA the > > option > > > to report deidentified data to the Biosense project to help with the > > early > > > detection of disease such outbreaks, etc. Privacy does not have to > > be > > > violated in order to achieve most of what you are concerned about. > > > > Yeah, actually it does. > > > > In order to intervene with specific patient about their diabetes, the > > individual patient must be contacted. In order to prevent potential > > sex > > partners from getting AIDs and dieing, the diseased patients identity, > > and their current and recent sex partners need to be identified AND > > contacts. > > > > in the later case you have to decide if your for or against murder. > > > > Ruben > > > > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------- > > This SF.net email is sponsored by: Splunk Inc. Do you grep through log > > files > > for problems? Stop! Download the new AJAX search engine that makes > > searching your log files as easy as surfing the web. DOWNLOAD > > SPLUNK! > > http://sel.as-us.falkag.net/sel?cmd=lnk&kid=103432&bid=230486&dat=121642 > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Hardhats-members mailing list > > [email protected] > > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/hardhats-members > > > > -- > > Nancy Anthracite > > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------- > > This SF.net email is sponsored by: Splunk Inc. Do you grep through log > > files > > for problems? Stop! Download the new AJAX search engine that makes > > searching your log files as easy as surfing the web. DOWNLOAD > > SPLUNK! > > http://sel.as-us.falkag.net/sel?cmd=lnk&kid=103432&bid=230486&dat=121642 > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Hardhats-members mailing list > > [email protected] > > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/hardhats-members > > > > > > > > ------------------------------------------------------- > > This SF.net email is sponsored by: Splunk Inc. Do you grep through log files > > for problems? Stop! Download the new AJAX search engine that makes > > searching your log files as easy as surfing the web. DOWNLOAD SPLUNK! > > http://sel.as-us.falkag.net/sel?cmd=lnk&kid=103432&bid=230486&dat=121642 > > _______________________________________________ > > Hardhats-members mailing list > > [email protected] > > https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/hardhats-members > > > > ------------------------------------------------------- > This SF.net email is sponsored by: Splunk Inc. Do you grep through log files > for problems? Stop! Download the new AJAX search engine that makes > searching your log files as easy as surfing the web. 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