Talk:Database Protection and Accessibility of Scientific Data

I think it would be interesting to look at how public policy has effected medical research. Have regulations like HIPAA, which restrict access to patient information, adversly affected our ability to conduct research using retrospective and prospective patient data. I know that in many European countries restrictions to patient data are much less rigorous. I would theorize that in these European countries there exists in an increase in the amount of research conducted, and decrease in typical time period associated with such research. There might be other interesting differences that are less obvious.

Damon May - I'd like to join you on this one. The HIPAA thing is a very interesting topic to throw into the project. Not sure I'd want to focus entirely on medicine, though I think medicine would be great as one of the main thrusts.

Database protection seems to be a way to attempt to protect the research investment of the institution that creates the database initially. It seems to be designed to _encourage_ research, rather than restrict it -- if your database is protected, you've got something to show for your time that the other guy doesn't have. However, as you indicate, regulations can clamp things down so tightly that they prevent agencies from collaborating and keep the benefits of the information from reaching as many people as possible.

HIPAA differs from the types of database protection we read about in the first lecture readings in that its stated goal is to protect personal privacy, rather than to protect investment. But the effects of HIPAA seem to be similar to the effects of legislated database protection, so I think HIPAA fits well into a discussion of db protection.

I'd like to explore whether it's possible to quantify the positive effects of db protection, weigh them against the negative effects, and speculate on the ideal level of protection.