It is always a good idea to maintain an excellent record of patient care.  Computer systems support the effective and efficient collection and maintenance of such data.  But with the advent of the interconnectivity of the Internet and the effectiveness of data retrieval engines, there is an ever-growing risk of unauthorized "sharing" of patient healthcare data.

This article reviews the foundations for privacy of personal information and the current practices of collecting and assembling separate increments of private personal and medical data made possible on the Internet by software and hardware configurations.