Lawmakers on the Health and Human Services Committee have shaped an important bill that would improve the confidentiality of health care records. The Maine Psychological Association, however, raises an important point about a small section of the bill. A change there could save both health care providers and patients a lot of grief.

LD 1737, in brief, outlines rules and limits for disclosing health care records. It says who is authorized to give out details of a patient’s health history and what sort of approval is required before any information is released. Given the tandem rise in technology that makes tranferring data easier and an increasing concern about health care costs, this bill is timely and needed.

The point raised by the Psychological Association is buried in the bill under its authorization section. Among the rules governing written and oral consent is a clause that allows for “implied consent.” The danger of such permission is obvious: A doctor may think that a patient has tacitly approved the release of medical records when that is not the case. The results of this misunderstanding could be devastating.

The association sums up its concern succinctly in a letter to the Health and Human Services Committee: “Without strict rules of confidentiality in the psychologist’s rules of ethics, it is safe to say that many people would not seek the help of a psychologist for fear of how their confidential information would be used.” These people, of course, would not be alone.

Patients concerned that potential employers could misuse medical histories to make hiring decisions or how they will be regarded by an insurer, people with HIV or AIDS worried about how they will be perceived, anyone who wants some measure of control over who knows what about them should be wary of implied consent. Doctors, too, might see this clause as more of a headache than a clear, forthright statement from a patient outlining how information may be used.

The committee can improve this valuable bill by dropping the implied-consent rule.