One concern about the privacy of medical records is that politically motivated leaks are almost a certainty. I've read several accounts of IRS employees who've been disciplined for improperly accessing the tax files of celebrities, political figures, and those whom they hold a grudge against. Hillary Clinton is proposing a system to develop a standardized nationalized database of medical records. I have no more faith that those records won't be abused than I do of any other government records. Police departments have often been a source of leaked information, especially about people the police may not like.

Some people might say that if you have nothing to hide, then you shouldn't be opposed to such nationalized databases. First, if they have nothing to hide, then do they send all of their personal correspondance on postcards or do they seal them in envelopes? A lot of people have done things in their youth that they may be ashamed of as adults. People change. For example, there were a lot of people who partied hardy as college students who later settled into a more conservative lifestyle as adults. However, things from personal records, especially if taken out of context, can be the source of a lot of mischief.