Databases Tempt the Curious into Snooping

Did a rogue government employee look up the travel records of a prominent liberal blogger and post them to the internet? Follow the snooping by 'Baggi' on the travels of Glenn Greenwald here.

Of course, if it did happen, that'd would hardly be the first time a government employee misused a surveillance database. Cops look up lost loves or cuties they pulled over for speeding, domestic violence abusers pry into databanks to find their fleeing girlfriend, and stalkers use databases to track down celebrities.

Even doctors and nurses aren't above trying to sneak a peek at Bill Clinton's medical records -- it's just way too tempting when you have the access code. That human curiousity -- which can give rise to a felony violation of privacy laws, is complicating a drive to make all medical record electronic. (Healtheon, anyone?)

And just last September, the New York City public hospital system said that dozens of workers at one of its Brooklyn medical centers, including doctors and nurses, technicians and clerks, had improperly looked at the computerized medical records of Nixzmary Brown, a 7-year-old who prosecutors say was beaten to death by her stepfather last winter.

Powerful forces are lobbying hard for government and private programs that could push the nation's costly and inefficient health care system into the computer age. President Bush strongly favors more use of health information technology. Health insurance and medical device companies are eager supporters, not to mention technology companies like IBM and Google. Furthermore, Intel and Wal-Mart Stores have both said they intend to announce plans this week to embrace electronic health records for their employees.

[...] But the legislation has bogged down, largely because of differences over how to balance the health care industry's interest in efficiently collecting, studying and using data with privacy concerns for tens of millions of ordinary Americans--not just celebrities and victims of crime.