Should states enact different laws to protect privacy?
A. No. Privacy legislation should be national in scope to avoid impeding medical research with a patchwork of inconsistent state laws. Efforts to protect personal health information and research are best served by a uniform standard. Federal law should preempt all state health information law with certain exceptions, such as doctor-patient privilege and licensing. Research endeavors often cross state lines. Disease crosses borders as well. States that impose greater restrictions on research than a strong national standard could drive research out of a state, denying patients in those states access to clinical research. In Summary Privacy of medical information is not a new issue. But as our society acquires more information–and more ways to access it–privacy and confidentiality have become urgent issues. BIO believes that medical information, of which genetic information is an integral part, should be protected by uniform, national legislation. Privacy legislation needs to be constru
