Waxman Chairmanship Bodes Well

By Prudence L. Gourguechon on 11/21/2008 4:54 PM

Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA) has unseated Congressman Dingell (D-MI) as chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. This could be a positive development for privacy protections in health IT legislation (electronic medical records). Mr. Waxman was very helpful to APsaA in its efforts to promote the inclusion of a provision in the Energy and Commerce HIT bill that expressly preserved the psychotherapist-patients privilege. Mr. Waxman has also expressed concern over the number of electronic health record breaches and the lack of enforcement of provisions (weak as they are) in the HIPAA Privacy Rule. We at APsaA have worked hard with the Energy and Commerce Committee, and congratulate Congressman Waxman on his chairmanship.