Medical records in the digital age

The medical field isn't exactly embracing the digital revolution, although it's quick to implement scientific progress in other areas. Trapped in a mess of legal, privacy, and insurance regulations and hampered by financial disincentives to implement digital record keeping, many medical centers still rely on voluminous paper records. But that's changing, and with change comes good news and bad.

First come the breaches of privacy. In Cincinnati, a woman is suing the University of Cincinatti Medical Center after a medical clerk posted the woman's medical records (showing name and diagnosis of syphilis) to Facebook's page "Team No Hoes." Privacy is also compromised when medical records become part of court hearings, as many legal cases become part of public record and are searchable online.

But these risks were part of the paper system as well. Recently, a huge number of paper medical records turned up in York, UK, and Michael Schumacher's paper records seem to have been stolen and put up for sale.

So what do we need to keep sensitive, personal, medical information private? Think quickly, because already some doctors can access your medical records via Google Glass as they talk to you.