Specifically, who should follow the Ethical Force recommendations on protecting privacy?
Every individual or organization that has access to or uses identifiable health care information has that information because a patient entrusted the information to someone — either to him or her or to someone with whom they are associated. Therefore, every individual or organization with access to this sensitive information is considered to be a “health information trustee.” Being a health information trustee is a privileged position, which, like most privileges, entails special obligations. The Ethical Force recommendations are a specification of some of the ethical obligations of every health information trustee.
