Put public and privacy in balance

Over the weekend, two more deaths in Maine were attributed to the H1N1 virus sweeping through the state. Swine flu has swiftly evolved from faraway fear into problematic pandemic, as schools and workplaces suffer from absence-related shutdowns and interrupted productivity.

There's little Mainers can do except be prepared. This can come through inoculation and preventative measures, like using the antibacterial squirters that are appearing everywhere. This also comes, however, through having enough practical information to make judicious decisions.

Instead, the state must release vague, nebulous information about the deaths, which can add confusion and fear about H1N1, rather than calming nerves. The state's announcement Saturday failed to really inform the public of anything, except two persons had died, one each in Kennebec and Hancock counties respectively. One was between 25-50. The other was over 65. That's it.

The reason is HIPAA, the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which prescribes imperious guardianship of personal health-related information. Day-to-day, this legislation is useful, although sometimes a nuisance. Overall, its goal is fair; to ensure a person's medical history is protected.

While privacy must be respected, the swine flu is a public health issue, which should require officials to be more transparent about its virulence and those who are affected by it. Yet the constraints of HIPAA only allow the barest of information to be disclosed, which hinders the public, in a crisis, from being informed about serious threats to the well-being of themselves and their families.

For example, the Mainers who recently succumbed to H1N1 had underlying medical conditions. It would be productive to know which conditions, so people could have a greater understanding of the virus' effect on health, and perhaps help others suffering from those same conditions to take greater precautions against exposure to the virus. 

The public does not need to know the identities of those who've died from swine flu. It should know, however, more than it is now being told. To say someone between 25-50 and someone over 65 has died in 2,400 square miles of Maine, as the state did Saturday, is to say nothing at all. In times of health crises, some balance between the constraints of HIPAA and the needs of the public must be found.  

Of course, personal, identifying information should remain privileged. Yet underlying circumstances are too important not to disclose, even if just partially. It should possible to protect personal privacy and public health, without jeopardizing either.