HIPAA (or the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act), passed in 1996, has been touted by legislators, physicians, patients, and health industry leaders as a law that protects patient medical data privacy. It turns out the act does the exact opposite, allowing over 2.2 million entities in the U.S. to trade, disperse, and sell personal medical data without consent.

Twila Brase, a nurse who is an expert on electronic health record (EHR) laws and medical data privacy, has written a new book called “Big Brother in the Exam Room,” which describes in detail the extent to which data is being collected and used without any consents. Brase talks about HIPAA and EHRs on the Paradocs podcast. Listen here…