Many hospitals, health maintenance organizations, and federal agencies are converting, or plan to convert, all patient medical records from paper to electronic storage (using imaging technology) in...

Many hospitals, health maintenance organizations, and federal agencies are converting, or plan to convert, all patient medical records from paper to electronic storage (using imaging technology) in compliance with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPAC), also known as “Obamacare.” The PPAC mandates that all medical records shall be freely disseminated to insurance companies, besides the U.S. government and government-approved third-party venders. Once completed, electronic storage will enable quick access, any time and from any place, to most records. However, the availability of these records in a database or on networks or smart cards may allow people, some of whom are unauthorized, to view another person’s private medical data. To protect privacy fully may cost too much money or may considerably slow the speed of access to the records. What policies could health care administrators use to prevent unauthorized access? Discuss.