Navigenics has joined healthcare leaders across the country to support a new Declaration of Health Data Rights.
The statement aims to ensure patients’ ability to access and share their own personal health information.
The declaration, which appears on the website HealthDataRights.org, was drafted in response to the difficulties many patients have reported experiencing while attempting to obtain their personal medical records from hospitals, health plans and doctors.
It stipulates that we should have the right to access our own health information so that we can make the best medical decisions for ourselves.
The tenets are simple. The document declares that we the people:
- Have the right to our own health data
- Have the right to know the source of each health data element
- Have the right to take possession of a complete copy of our individual health data, without delay, at minimal or no cost; If data exist in computable form, they must be made available in that form
- Have the right to share our health data with others as we see fit
Navigenics is excited to be a part of this movement, recognizing that these basic rights to health data empower people to harness the power of information to manage and engage in their own health outcomes.
We’ve built our genetic testing services around that concept, enabling people to view their genetic information and use it to take control of their health. When you have an understanding of your DNA, you have a powerful tool that can help you catch health conditions early, reduce their effects or even prevent them entirely.
Learn more about the Declaration of Health Data Rights.
Dental Beaumont Jun 29, 2009
This is great news. This will help any medical advancement. We just hope that this will not be used for any malicious intent.