CIOs must walk fine line between doctor access and patient privacy

Healthcare CIOs are struggling to balance the needs to doctors and patients as they work out the governance of electronic medical records. While healthcare providers need access to information on a fast and flexible basis, patient privacy must also be preserved. Glenn Mamary, CIO of Hunterdon Healthcare System, in, Flemington, N.J., says he has worked out a series of governance policies designed to address the practical challenges he has faced while transitioning to electronic medical records. He has contended with problems such as doctors not getting sufficient access to those records, and with curious personnel looking at medical histories they should not be seeing.