Privacy Concerns Surround OPM Health Records Database
In October, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) announced its plan to launch a new system of record keeping. The proposed database would store and analyze claims for the more than eight million participants in the Federal Employee Health Benefit Program (FEHBP). Claims data from two other federal programs, the National Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Program and the Multi-State Option Plan, will also be stored in the database once both programs are fully operational.
According to the Washington Post and Kaiser Health News, OPM claims that this database, authorized as part of the new health care law, is necessary to fight fraud in the system, improve the quality of services offered, increase patient safety while decreasing instances of medical malpractice and lower overall costs. Broadly, OPM hopes the database will allow the agency to identify the most effective treatments for specific conditions by analyzing diagnoses and treatments options.
In a notice published in the Federal Register, OPM states that any of the following information could be contained in the database records:
- Personal identifying information, such as one's name, Social Security number, date of birth, gender, and phone number
- Address
- Dependent information
- Employment information
- Health care provider information (including debarred provider information)
- Health care coverage information
- Health care procedure information
- Health care diagnosis information
-
Provider charges and reimbursement information on the above coverage, procedures and diagnoses
Too Much Information Accessible
Critics point to the amount of information that could potentially be housed in the system as well as OPM's lack of detail on agencies or employees who would have access to the database as reasons the government should avoid centralizing sensitive information. In addition, critics note that insurers store much of this information already and the OPM database runs the risk of duplication, as lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union have warned against.
But OPM cites a "strong track record" of protecting personal information. The agency also notes that any personal identifiers will not be shown to researchers and, according to The Washington Post report, pledged to only allow analysts with the proper clearances to view medical and personal records in the database.
Recently, OPM announced it would delay the launch of the data warehouse by at least one month, extending the comment period to mid-December and giving the public more time to voice concerns about the database. The agency has also pledged to provide "a more detailed" explanation of how the system will work.
