A Proposed National Health Information Network Architecture and Complementary Federal Preemption of State Health Information Privacy Laws

• Published in: American business law journal 2011-09, Vol.48 (3), p.503-595
• Main Authors: Hill, John W., Langvardt, Arlen W., Massey, Anne P., Rinehart, Jonathan E.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Electronic health records; Health care industry; Health care policy; Information technology
• ISSN: 0002-7766; 1744-1714
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1744-1714.2011.01120.x

As evinced by the current national debate, the US faces a health care crisis of monumental proportions, with complex issues of access, quality, and affordability. In terms of its cost, politics, quality, and efficiency, health care is a national issue that seriously threatens the US economy. Electronic health care (e-health) applications are proposed as a partial solution, and increased use of health information technology (HIT) is a common element of most serious US health care reform proposals. At their zenith, such applications would include a national health information network (NHIN) that holds great potential for improving the quality and efficiency of health care while lowering its cost. A NHIN has been described as the relatively seamless electronic flow of patient information for national interoperability among hospitals, outpatient clinics, and external laboratories, allowing clinicians to have access to patients' longitudinal test results on a twenty-four-hour-seven-days-a-week basis from virtually any location.