The United States Attorney’s Office announced today last week that Karen Williams was indicted on multiple fraud charges involving her scheme to fraudulently obtain prescription drugs and bill them to patient insurance companies. According to the indictment, Williams was employed as a pharmacy technician at a Walgreens on St. Charles Rock Road. Between 2007 and…
Month: May 2010
More breaches revealed by OCR
Noticed two more breaches on OCR’s web site today: Loma Linda University Health Care State: California Approx. # of Individuals Affected: 584 Date of Breach: 4/04/10 Type of Breach: Theft Location of Breached Information: Desktop Computer Miami VA Healthcare System State: Florida Approx. # of Individuals Affected: 568 Date of Breach: 1/19/10 Type of Breach:…
FL: Error Puts Private College Data Online
Until Friday, the names, addresses, Social Security and driver’s license numbers of hundreds of people associated with Edward Waters College were accessible to anyone doing a Google or Yahoo search. In what college officials admit was a mistake, the information in faxes sent to EWC from employees and potential students was available online because the…
Is Your Favorite Charity Spying on You?
Anne Kadet reports: Whether a patient comes in for a gall-bladder operation or to have a baby, the routine remains the same for staff at Sharp HealthCare hospitals in San Diego. The front desk checks insurance records to make sure the bills get paid on time. Nurses take vitals and tag their charges with a…
Release of Random Drug Testing Results Raise HIPAA Challenge
Curt Varone writes: Fire Lieutenant Shawn Baptist was fired last year from the Zephyrhills, Florida Fire Department after he allegedly failed a random drug test on February 23, 2009. He is challenging the termination as well as the results of the test through grievance arbitration. In addition he filed suit last week alleging the public…
Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program – Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2009
The Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Justice have issued a report: “Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program – Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2009.” The report includes a few cases where the defendants were charged with identity theft among other charges: In Florida, the owner and operator of a…