I think it is easier to make private information public, than it is to make public information private.
We can mitigate that sort of failure with things like medical bracelets (http://www.mediband.co.uk/). Paramedics check for medical bracelet, necklace and wallet information cards. One of the first words any medical staff will ask is about allergies.
I recognize that that is hardly ideal and indeed some lives are undoubtedly lost because of it. But I think going public with medical records is too far.
> I just wish I could access my medical records like I access my own email.
Why do you think you can't? They can't actually be sent to you over unsecured email, but they certainly can be provided to you securely, and the access methods can be very similar to what you would do with email. I don't think anyone offers a data dump rather than a UI into a hosted product, but I don't see any legal reason under HIPAA for that.
We can mitigate that sort of failure with things like medical bracelets (http://www.mediband.co.uk/). Paramedics check for medical bracelet, necklace and wallet information cards. One of the first words any medical staff will ask is about allergies.
I recognize that that is hardly ideal and indeed some lives are undoubtedly lost because of it. But I think going public with medical records is too far.