Individually-identifiable medical information is gathered by patients and medical institution. It includes the data gathered and research analyzed by hospital staff during the medical cure.
While information system are increasingly used in health institution in order to improve efficiency in their operation there is also potential dangerfor damaging privacy individual patients.
In USA, The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, is intended to protect sensitive patient's information. HIPAA prohibits the use of a patient's medical information for purposes other than that for which the information was provided, without the patient's express consent. HIPAA is also intended to promote minimum national standards protecting individually identifiable health information from inappropriate uses. Unlike the USA, Korea still has no privacy laws that protect confidentiallity and security of patient information. In giving approval, the board weighs the patient's privacy interest against the importance of the research and the steps taken to minimize the risks to the patient's privacy.
With types of remedies for the infringement of individually-identifiable medical information, there are two different remedies in the civil law - compensatory damages in breach of contract or in tort, and injunction.