Privacy advocates worry that as patient records move from paper to the digital environment, security breaches will occur more frequently and affect more patients. 

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, popularly known as the stimulus bill, contained several provisions encouraging adoption of electronic medical records.  Many health policy experts support health information technology, believing that electronic health records will enhance quality of care (through minimizing medication errors and creating opportunities for greater continuity of care) and decrease administrative costs. Along with these benefits, however, is a growing risk of privacy breaches.