New frontiers for electronic health records and research databases - Alberta's Bill 52: submission of the Health Law Institute on Bill 52.

• Author: Bailey, Tracey M.

Intended to "bring the Health Information Act up to 2008 standards with the advent of technology," Bill 52, Alberta's Health Information Amendment Act, was introduced, and referred to the Legislative Assembly's Standing Committee on Health, late last November. (1) Invitations for oral presentations, then written submissions, followed. By May of this year, by the time the policy field committee's proposed amendments were tabled and accepted, the concerns of no fewer than sixty-nine groups and individuals had been heard. (2) Those of the Health Law Institute, as submitted in writing to the Standing Committee on April 24, 2009, are reproduced here.

Endnotes

(1) Alberta, Legislative Assembly, Hansard, No. 51 (24 November 2008) at 2018 (George Rogers). Bill 52, Health Information Amendment Act, 2009, 2nd Sess., 27th Leg., Alberta, 2009.

(2) Alberta, Standing Committee on Health, Report on Bill 52: Health Information Amendment Act, 2009 (Edmonton: Standing Committee on Health, 2009). For all the presentations and submissions, see Standing Committee on Health, "Submissions Bill 52," online: Standing Committee on Health . Concerns were expressed outside committee, as well See e.g. "Patients will lose that 'last little bit of control"' Edmonton Journal (3 December 2008) B7; Jamie Komarnicki, "Loss of patient privacy feared" Calgary Herald (5 February 2009) A5; Michelle Lang, "Proposed health Jaw raises...