Privacy issue complicates push to link medical data

President-elect Barack Obama's plan to link up doctors and hospitals with new information technology is imperiled by a seemingly intractable dispute over how to protect the privacy of electronic medical records. Lawmakers, caught in a crossfire of lobbying by the healthcare industry and consumer groups, have been unable to agree on privacy safeguards that would allow patients to control the use of their medical records. Congressional leaders plan to provide $20 billion for such technology in an economic stimulus bill.