Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott is going after some debt-settlement companies for fraud. But the story reported by KTRE also includes charges concerning a security breach associated with one of the companies: Four Peaks [Financial] is accused of exposing its customers’ sensitive personal information, including name and credit card numbers, on its Web site. The…
Author: Dissent
A Reader’s Rant: “YOU CAN’T FIX STUPID!”
A recent post on a FACTA-related lawsuit touched a nerve for at least one reader. Erick Mann, ID Theft Group Security Specialist, sent me the following, which he’s given me permission to post here: I have found that the conversation sounds like a loop on a tape recorder: “We’re fine, that doesn’t apply to us”…
CAP Comments on HHS Health Data Breach Guidelines
By Peter Swire | May 22, 2009 Download the comments (pdf) The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 imposes a new duty on health care providers and insurers to notify affected individuals about any breach of their personal health data. The Department of Health and Human Services has asked for comments on the first…
Students Protest UHS' New HIV Testing Policy
Naveen N Srivatsa of the Harvard Crimson reports: Over 20 students gathered in front of the Holyoke Center Wednesday evening to protest Harvard University Health Services’ decision to discontinue anonymous HIV testing. Waving signs that read “My right to privacy includes my right to anonymity†and “I’m pro-testing,†the group of students from the College…
(follow-up) NE: Hastings Regional Center must release names
Denise Booker of KHAS-TV reports: The fight to release the names of those buried at the Hastings Regional Center is now over. The Nebraska Supreme Court has ordered the state to release nearly 1,000 patient names from the former psychiatric hospital cemetery. The Adams County Historical Society has battled for almost 2 years to make…
Iowa Court: proof of disclosure not sufficient to support damages
Jeff Drummon of HIPAA blog points to an Iowa case decided this month: John Doe v. Central Iowa Health System d/b/a Iowa Health Des Moines d/b/a Iowa Methodist Medical Center and d/b/a Iowa Lutheran Hospital (pdf). In this case, although the plaintiff seemingly convinced the jury that his records had been improperly disclosed, he didn’t…