Hospitals, Patients Clash Over Privacy Rights

When patients check into hospitals or doctor offices, they presume their information will be kept in strictest confidence, but often, amid the pile of papers, they overlook fine print describing how their personal information can be farmed out for fundraising.

Hospitals and other health care organizations widely use patient information, without patients' explicit permission, to raise funds. To the dismay of privacy-rights advocates and some in the medical field, fundraising to benefit medical institutions is allowed under federal law.

Full-text article by Elizabeth Fernandez is available via San Francisco Gate.com, 5.27.08.