A new position taken by AMA will surely require a lot of explaining.

As reported in iHealthBeat, "AMA plans to advocate physician-ownership of the EHR data" and according to Dr. William Hazel, AMA Trustee, "there is a tremendous economic value to the cumulative data in terms of analyzing patterns and without physician ownership of the data, third-party vendors could obtain the profits".

Now let's pause for a second and think what this means.

Owning the data means being able to do anything with it. Never mind patient privacy. Never mind HIPAA. Never mind that data collection is subsidized by 3rd parties, those who reimburse the cost of professional fees and procedures. Why only physicians should have the ultimate control? Why should 3rd parties be prohibited from making fair profit from adding value, especially if they sponsored data collection?

What brought this policy pronouncement to life? Is this a product of junior staffer's wild imagination that somehow saw the light of day or a deeply held belief of AMA Board and Management? Whether the result of incompetence or arrogance, it is astonishing to see this statement made out loud. The only result it can achieve is harm AMA's trust and credibility with the public. Sorry, Mr.Patient, you have no rights to your data, we own it.

No meaningful progress with national-wide healthcare IT can happen without public's trust and support. Do not expect it unless consumer has ultimate control over the record. Providers, just like everyone else must earn that trust and ask the consumer for permission. This would not hinder use for any legitimate purpose.

Our prediction is that AMA will be forced to back off. This position is indefensible. Stay tuned.