Protecting reproductive health information in the post-Roe era: interoperability strategies for healthcare institutions

RR Khanna, SG Murray, T Wen… - Journal of the …, 2023 - academic.oup.com
RR Khanna, SG Murray, T Wen, K Salmeen, T Illangasekare, N Benfield, J Adler-Milstein
Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 2023academic.oup.com
Abstract On June 24, 2022, the US Supreme Court ended constitutional protections for
abortion, resulting in wide variability in access from severe restrictions in many states and
fewer restrictions in others. Healthcare institutions capture information about patients'
pregnancy and abortion care and, due to interoperability, may share it in ways that expose
their providers and patients to social stigma and potential legal jeopardy in states with
severe restrictions. In this article, we describe sources of risk to patients and providers that …
Abstract
On June 24, 2022, the US Supreme Court ended constitutional protections for abortion, resulting in wide variability in access from severe restrictions in many states and fewer restrictions in others. Healthcare institutions capture information about patients’ pregnancy and abortion care and, due to interoperability, may share it in ways that expose their providers and patients to social stigma and potential legal jeopardy in states with severe restrictions. In this article, we describe sources of risk to patients and providers that arise from interoperability and specify actions that institutions can take to reduce that risk. Institutions have significant power to define their practices for how and where care is documented, how patients are identified, where data are sent or hosted, and how patients are counseled, and thus should protect patients’ privacy and ability to receive medical care that is safe and legal where it is performed.
Oxford University Press