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　　Behind the brewing war over protecting patients' records in an age of HMOs and online medicine.

　　Technology is a two-edged sword. Rarely is this as clear as it is in the realm of health care. Technology allows doctors to test their patients for genetic defects--and then to turn around and spread the results throughout the world via the Internet. For someone in need of treatment, that's good news. But for someone in search of a job or an insurance policy, the tidings can be all bad.

　　Last week President Bill Clinton proposed a corollary to the patients' bill of rights now before Congress: a right to medical privacy. Beginning in 2002, under rules set to become law in February, patients would be able to stipulate the conditions under which their personal medical data could be divulged. They would be able to examine their records and make corrections. They could learn who else had seen the information. Improper use of records by a caregiver or insurer could result in both civil and criminal penalties. The plan was, said Clinton, "an unprecedented step toward putting Americans back in control of their own medical records."

　　While the administration billed the rules as an attempt to strike a balance between the needs of consumers and those of the health-care industry, neither doctors nor insurance companies were happy. The doctors said the rules could actually erode privacy, pointing to a provision allowing managed-care plans to use personal information without consent if the purpose was "health-care operations." That, physicians said, was a loophole through which HMOs and other insurers could pry into the doctor-patient relationship, in the name of assessing the quality of care. Meanwhile, the insurers protested that the rules would make them vulnerable to lawsuits. They were especially disturbed by a provision holding them liable for privacy breaches by "business partners" such as lawyers and accountants. Both groups agreed that privacy protections would drive up the cost of health care by at least an additional $3.8 billion, and maybe much more, over the next five years. They also complained about the increased level of federal scrutiny required by the new rules' enforcement provisions.

　　One aim of the rules is to reassure patients about confidentiality, thereby encouraging them to be open with their doctors. Today various cancers and sexually transmitted diseases can go untreated because patients are afraid of embarrassment or of losing insurance coverage. The fear is real: Clinton aides noted that a January poll by Princeton Survey Research Associates found that one in six U.S. adults had at some time done something unusual to conceal medical information, such as paying cash for services.

　　By EVAN THOMAS Newsweek; 11/08/99, Vol. 134 Issue 19, p67, 1/2p, 1c

　　注(1)：本文選自By EVAN THOMAS Newsweek; 11/08/99, Vol. 134 Issue 19, p67, 1/2p, 1c

　　注(2)：本文習(xí)題命題模仿對象2003年真題text 2

　　1. The author begins his article with “technology is a two-edged sword” to _____________.

　　[A] show that doctor’s improper use of technology can end up in bad results

　　[B] call on people’s attention to the potential danger technology can bring to us

　　[C] warn of the harm patients are prone to suffer

　　[D] show the advantages and disadvantages of technology

　　2. According to the proposal made by President Clinton, patients will be able to do the following EXCEPT _____________.

　　[A] enjoy more rights to their medical records

　　[B] be open with their doctors

　　[C] decide how to use their medical information

　　[D] sue their insurers for improper use of their medical records

　　3. Doctors tend to think that the rules _____________.

　　[A] may ruin doctor-patient relationship

　　[B] can do more harm than good

　　[C] will prevent doctors from doing medical research

　　[D] will end up in more health care cost and poorer medical service

　　4. The example of the January poll by Princeton Survey Research Associates is used to show that __________________.

　　[A] American patients’ concealment of their medical information has become a big concern

　　[B] a large portion of patients would rather leave their diseases untreated

　　[C] concealing medical information is widespread in the U.S.

　　[D] paying cash for medical service is a common practice among American patients

　　5. From the article we can learn that ________________.

　　[A] American government will tighten its control over the use of patients’ personal information.

　　[B] doctors and insurers are both against the rules for the same reasons

　　[C] patients are entitled to have complete control of their medical information

　　[D] the new rules put insurers in a very disadvantageous position

　　答案：A B B A D