Data Management Company Gives Patients the Key to Medical Records Security.

LAS VEGAS--(BW HealthWire)--Sept. 22, 1998--Going to see the doctor can be a stressful event for many people, especially when the visit involves testing for infectious or genetic diseases.

Increasing anxiety over the privacy of those test results is bringing patient stress to the boiling point. To alleviate this problem, Dr. James E. Beecham formed Anonymous Data Corp. (ADC), an Internet-based data management company dedicated to putting the security of medical records back into the hands of patients.

Instead of labeling sensitive patient health records by name or number, ADC is implementing an "anonymous" system based on "biometrics," the science of electronically scanning a part of the human body in order to identify that person.

ADC has formed a partnership with IriScan Inc., the exclusive developer of iris-recognition technology, to develop a medical records system based on computerized scans of the iris of patients' eyes.

"The human iris is one of the most distinctive features on the human body," said Beecham, adding that it is on a similar level to DNA in identifying an individual.

"In just a matter of about 30 seconds, our system can scan a person's iris and pull up their medical records. Without the permission and actual presence of that person, no unauthorized individual will have access to those files."

Is such a system truly necessary to protect patient records? While doctors have taken the Hippocratic oath to protect patients' privacy, others such as HMOs and health insurers have not. With the growing use of computerized medical files, it has become alarmingly simple for a large number of non-doctors, such as HMO employees, to access confidential patient files without the patient's permission.

According to a recent article in USA Today, HMOs aren't the only group with such access to medical-records information. Other groups include large employers that insure their own workers and track their care, marketing companies that contract with HMOs to monitor which drugs and services their patients use, outside contractors hired to review the appropriateness of medical procedures and researchers conducting medical studies.

As a result, thousands have lost their jobs or insurance benefits because test results were leaked that revealed their genetic health risks. Nineteen states have laws restricting the way health insurers use genetic information, but these laws vary widely and do not protect half of all insured Americans who receive coverage through self-insured companies.

"As a doctor, I'm deeply concerned about protecting the privacy of my patients," said Beecham. "As more and more people become aware of the problem, they are going to demand that something be done to protect their private medical records. We have developed this special biometric system as a reliable way to meet those demands."

Currently, Beecham is developing three different systems that use the IriScan technology to manage drug testing, infectious disease testing and genetic testing results for patients.

Founded in 1996 by pathology specialist Dr. James Beecham, ADC is an Internet-based data management company with headquarters in Lasl medical records.

ADC's data management ility only to the patients and their doctors.