Deborah C. Peel, MD
Founder and Chair, Patient Privacy Rights
Deborah C. Peel MD is a practicing physician and national expert on health privacy. She became active in privacy rights at the federal level in 1993 when the Clinton Healthcare Initiative required every doctor-patient encounter to be entered in a federal health database. She presents at national panels and Congressional briefings, has provided state and federal testimony, and is widely quoted in trade journals and the national press. In August, 2007, Dr. Peel was named #4 of the "100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare" by Modern Healthcare Magazine.
In 2004, Dr. Peel founded Patient Privacy Rights to educate and empower Americans to ensure we control all access to our health records. Patient Privacy Rights is the nation's leading consumer advocacy organization working to restore our rights to health privacy.
Today over 4 million health-related businesses and government agencies have access to the most sensitive information on Earth, every American's electronic personal health records, for any business purpose without notice or consent. Today, the main uses of electronic medical records are not to improve our health, but to improve corporate profits.
PPR educates the public about the massive threats technology poses to privacy and how technology can be used instead to strengthen and preserve personal control of access to health information. Electronic health systems will not succeed, unless the rights and interests of consumers come first. 'Smart' technology and 'smart' legislation can ensure an electronic health system that patients trust and are willing to participate in.
In 2006, Dr. Peel formed the bipartisan Coalition for Patient Privacy. Over 50 organizations urged Congress to add privacy protections to HIT legislation in 2006 and 2007. Coalition members include the left and the right: the Family Research Council, the Christian Coalition, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, the ACLU, the California Medical Association, and the American Chiropractic Association.
In 2007, the world's largest technology corporation, Microsoft, agreed to adhere to the Coalition's privacy principles and be audited on whether its HealthVault system for electronic health records protects privacy as pledged.
In 2008, PPR will launch PrivacyRightsCertified, a consumer-led organization to certify electronic systems and software that meet the toughest national and international standards for privacy. There is a great need for a trusted consumer seal-of-approval process so the public can tell which electronic health systems and products ensure that personal health information is secure and all access is controlled by the patient.
Biography last updated January 2008