John at AMERICAblog suspects that the federal government keeps track of anyone who has ever been prescribed antidepressants, which are sometimes used to treat body dysmorphic disorder and other obsessive-compulsive disorders.

He quotes the following paragraph from an ABC News story on the Virginia Tech killer (emphasis added):

Some news accounts have suggested that Cho had a history of antidepressant use, but senior federal officials tell ABC News that they can find no record of such medication in the government's files. This does not completely rule out prescription drug use, including samples from a physician, drugs obtained through illegal Internet sources, or a gap in the federal database, but the sources say theirs is a reasonably complete search.

No record of such medication in the government's files? A federal database? Why would the government keep a record of the medication that I or anyone else is taking? Wouldn't this violate a patient's right to privacy?

Something has to be missing here. I think ABC News used unclear phrasing in its story and AMERICAblog is reacting over nothing. That's just my guess though.

Update 1: Hmm. According to the ACLU, the police can get your medical information without a warrant, and the government can access your medical files through the Patriot Act. Lord.

Update 2: Boing Boing explains why ABC News' use of the phrase "federal database" is somewhat flawed. It's a lot more complicated than a simple "the government keeps track of people on antidepressants" - I don't think there is any real reason for outrage here.