Advanced technology and confidentiality in hand surgery.

Advanced technology has the potential to improve the quality of care for our patients, but it also poses new challenges, especially in maintaining patient confidentiality. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and the newly enacted Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act provide certain guidelines governing patients' medical record confidentiality. This article discusses the other new challenges facing hand surgeons, such as the use of social media, telemedicine, e-mails, and the Internet.