YOUR MEDICAL DATA MAY NOT BE CONFIDENTIAL

You smoked marijuana when you were young - and you did inhale.

You mentioned it to your family doctor, thinking it might relate to current
health concerns, and assumed the conversation was confidential.

Ten years ago, you were treated for cancer. It's in remission, but as you
apply for a new job, you worry. Your prospective employer might be
reluctant to hire someone who could incur huge medical bills.

Are your medical records safe and secure?

With computerization, your personal health history is more accessible to
inquiring eyes than ever before. That can include health-care workers,
insurance providers, government agencies - even employers worried about
insurance costs or the prospect of workplace violence.

According to one estimate, a typical patient's hospital record is seen by
an average of 77 people.

It's an increasingly controversial issue, as the federal government has
proposed creating a nationwide database of medical information.

Medical privacy is being irrevocably altered, said Mimi Azrael, a Baltimore
lawyer active in privacy concerns, civil rights and labor - employment
rights.

Federal laws protect rental records, but not medical records - except for
those related to HIV - AIDS. Some states have passed medical-record privacy
laws, but others provide almost no protection.

"What you have is a patchwork quilt of state laws," Ms. Azrael said. "Some
are strict. Some are not so strict."