Electronic Consent Channels: Preserving Patient Privacy Without Handcuffing Researchers

Advances in health information technology and electronic medical records have the tremendous potential to accelerate translational and clinical research. However, privacy concerns threaten to be a rate-limiting factor. By recognizing and responding to patient privacy concerns, policy-makers, researchers, and information technology leaders have the opportunity to transform trial recruitment and make it safer to electronically locate and convey sensitive health information.