The Latest Challenge to Health Privacy: Health Care Consolidation

Abstract

The American health care industry is undergoing a transformation in several respects, including the substantial integration and consolidation of health care providers. Three of the leading ways in which this is taking place are through mergers of hospitals and health systems, development of accountable care organizations (networks of providers that share responsibility for coordinating patient care), and hospitals purchasing physician practices. There has been considerable discussion about the effects of consolidation on health care cost and quality, but there has been virtually no discussion about the significant effects of consolidation on health privacy.

Keywords: health privacy, hospitals, electronic health records, EHR, health information exchange, HIE, HIPAA Privacy Rule, Physician practices, health care consolidation

JEL Classification: K31, K32