ACLU Letter to House in Support of the Privacy Protections Included in the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act

On behalf of the ACLU’s more than half a million members and activists, and 54 affiliates nationwide, we write in support of the privacy provisions included in the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (“HITECH”) Act. These privacy provisions must be enacted without passage of weakening amendments to realize President Obama’s vision of implementing a nationwide, interoperable electronic medical record system. Without the privacy provisions proposed in the HITECH Act, Americans will fear justifiably that their most private, personally identifiable information concerning their medical histories and conditions will be available to prying eyes.