My Mom had passed on to me the habit of keeping important papers and information documented, though my collection is not as organized it still help a lot. Being a chronic migraine sufferer there are times I forget things or information and this habit proves useful to me and my family.

In an April article of New England Journal of Medicine, a new data library called Patient-Controlled Health Records is presented. Initially, the idea seemed rather familiar since this is what my Mom used to do, sans the computer. As I read the article on the NEJoM review, the mention of “web access” and selective viewing of anyones health records made me a skeptic.

My connection with the Internet is more like a love/hate thing. I have had myself spammed and was sent a confirmation bill for a camera on E-bay which I didn't order much more pay for! I even got harassed through my Yahoo Messenger by a person claiming to have paid for the thing, ergo my skepticism for the on-line health info.

I know most transactions are web based and the instant available medical records can save you the waiting room time warp. Yes on-line consultation would be easier in emergency cases, the virtual house-call has a nice ring to it. The retrieval system lessens misdiagnosing and may be more information packed than the chart doctors and nurses have to fill up- in doctor script (read: undecipherable!)

But you know what? Mentioning all the benefits above doesn't change my being wary of the project. Information like a person's medical records are very private and important, once spied on could mean danger. Would you want a bored hacker tampering your medical entries and foul up any information? Remember The Net? Or The Paycheck? Those movies had people's lives non-existent…In the end, giving important information on health to a computer network system makes every bit open to all- no matter  the assurances given, tampering information, hacking, spamming and virus spreading happens.

If you ask me, I'd rather hold information about my life close like a card shark and his hand.