http://www.healthprivacy.org/info-url_nocat2302/info-url_nocat.htm
Individuals share a great deal of sensitive, personal information with their doctors. This information is then shared with others, such as insurance companies, pharmacies, researchers, and employers, for many reasons. Without adequate privacy protections, individuals take steps to shield themselves from what they consider harmful and intrusive uses of their health information often at significant cost to their health. This page links to some introductory materials on health privacy.