Are medical records at risk?

Due to a spate of recent security lapses, private information on hundreds of thousands of patients has been compromised. But institutions are reluctant to clamp down on security too tightly, for fear that doing so could get in the way of patient care. The stream of privacy breaches also threatens to undermine the healthcare industry’s effort to adopt electronic medical records, a push meant to make medical care safer and more convenient for patients. The piece also provides a discussion forum where readers can share their thoughts.