Excerpt: 'A major concern is that PHRs are generally not subject to any privacy act,' explained Robert Gellman, a privacy consultant and author of a recent report on PHR privacy. 'This is a surprise to almost everybody. People expect that their health records are subject to [privacy] laws… and for the most part they are -- when those records are held by doctors and insurers. When you agree to give your records to a third party there may be no privacy protections that apply at all.' To protect patient confidentiality, states are beginning to act. To date, Alabama and California have enacted privacy protections.

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