Again and again in the report from the Virginia Tech shootings review panel, one theme emerges: Share more information.

It's far too soon to know how the report's many recommendations in this area will fare, but state and university officials are beginning what promises to be a lengthy sifting of their implications.

Speaking Friday, Gov. Tim Kaine hit one aspect of the report's suggestions -- that there be more study of opening a pipeline between high schools and universities for information about students' mental illness.

In the case of Tech shooter Seung-Hui Cho, information about a diagnosis of selective mutism and depression, and the treatment and accommodations that let Cho succeed as an honors student at his Fairfax County high school, did not accompany him to college.

The university surely would have responded differently to various reports of Cho's strange behavior if officials had had access to his records from high school, Kaine said.

"They would have said, 'Wow, this is a serious problem.' But I think the fact that virtually all of the students that come on that campus and other campuses sort of come on as free agents, that is a huge problem for us."

Like other observers, Kaine said better information-sharing involves finding a balance between privacy rights and public safety.

"I can see some people having some concerns about that," the governor said. Speaking of transferring more records between high schools and institutions of higher education, he said, "I can also see an overwhelming public-safety justification for why doing that, at least to some degree, would keep campuses and our children safer and enable them to succeed when they're on campus."

The Tech review panel's report also highlighted the need for university staff to take a new look at how the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act -- federal laws that govern medical and educational records -- and other privacy regulations are interpreted.

The report charged that while different groups within Tech -- such as faculty, residence hall staff, police or the counseling center -- had information on different aspects of Cho's odd behavior, overly strict interpretations of privacy laws kept them from assembling the data into a more complete picture.

Reading the laws as a barrier to release of nearly any information, especially in cases of mental illness, is common.

John Snook, an attorney for the nonprofit Treatment Advocacy Center, said Thursday that privacy concerns can get in the way of effective care. He said he had encountered cases where privacy laws were invoked to keep families from learning details of a relative's illness, or even whether a mentally ill relative was hospitalized.

Eric Earnhart, spokesman for Carilion Clinic, noted Friday that the privacy portion of HIPAA was not the main purpose of the 1996 act, which focused on allowing health insurance to follow a person between jobs.

"The idea was if we are going to start all this transfer of information, we're going to have to have something to control the privacy of that information," Earnhart said.

As for the Tech panel's recommendations, Earnhart wrote in an e-mail later Friday, Carilion favors any changes that would improve care.

Plus, he added, "Consistency is always helpful when dealing with multiple federal rules and regulations."

In a statement Thursday, Tech President Charles Steger issued a call for finding a way to get more information about students' pre-college lives, and for breaking down barriers to information-sharing within the university.

"It is still a gray area," Steger said, and clarifying or changing privacy laws "will engender much discussion."

Staff writer Michael Sluss contributed to this report.