Senators intro bipartisan effort toward modernizing health privacy laws

Senators Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin, and Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, introduced the Health Data Use and Privacy Commission Act this week, aimed at starting the process of modernizing health data use and privacy policies.

The legislation, which is supported by several industry representatives including athenahealth, Epic, IBM and Teladoc Health, would establish a commission tasked with providing recommendations to Congress about updates to health information privacy laws.  

"As a doctor, the potential of new technology to improve patient care seems limitless. But Americans must be able to trust that their personal health data is protected if this technology can meet its full potential," said Cassidy in a statement.