Cindy George of the Houston Chronicle reports on a hacking case that thankfully did not result in an interruption of patient care: The fired technology director of a Houston organ donation company has been accused of hacking into its computer system and deleting records. A federal indictment alleges that over two days in November 2005,…
Stolen records, ID lead to TV shopping spree
Gary V. Murry of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette staff reports: A Sutton woman will undergo a psychological evaluation after admitting in court yesterday that she used personal information from a cancer patient’s stolen medical records to buy about $2,500 worth of collectible coins from a home shopping network. Charlotte A. Boehm, 55, formerly of…
University of Utah Hospitals & Clinics still looking for stolen data
There’s still no trace of purloined tapes containing backup copies of billing records from University Hospital that stretch back 16 years, but individual patients are beginning to receive letters telling them of the theft and what they can do. The U. has winnowed the list — once believed to contain 2.2 million people — down…
Americans Overwhelmingly Believe Electronic Personal Health Records Could Improve Their Health
The Markle Foundation has published a research brief based on a survey conducted among 1,580 American adults (18+) nationwide during the period of May 13-22, 2008. Among the findings: High perception of value: Regardless of their interest in using an online PHR service, 79 percent or more of the public believe using an online…
Schumer: Medicare Cards Risk Identity Theft
WNBC reports: Sen. Charles Schumer said the government is risking seniors’ financial information by putting their full Social Security numbers on their Medicare cards. He said Medicare is facilitating identity theft and he’s pushing a bill that would spend $500 million to issue new cards without the numbers. Is the problem that the numbers are…
U.S. electronic health-record standards agreed
Kim Dixon of Reuters reports: U.S. consumer groups, insurers and privacy advocates together with Google Inc and Microsoft Corp said on Wednesday they have agreed to standards intended to speed adoption of personal electronic health records. That’s nice, but as you read further into the report, you read that: “A policy and privacy logjam ……