Stephen Hunt reports: One of two men charged in connection with obtaining stolen medical records containing personal information for 1.5 million University Hospital patients accepted a plea deal Monday. Shadd Dean Hartman, 37, and Thomas Howard Anderson, 52, were each charged with one count of second-degree felony theft by receiving stolen property and one count…
Author: Dissent
Montana Court Affirms Patients’ Right To Die
Robert Baxter, 75, suffering from leukemia, was sleeping Friday, when his lawyer called him to let him know that a Montana court had ruled on his Right-to-Die lawsuit. But, he never woke up and died without knowing that the court had affirmed his right to end his life with the help of doctors. […] According…
WA: Health care data may be breached
Brad Shannon reports: The state Health Care Authority is notifying participants in the state’s Uniform Medical Plan in 2006-07 of a possible personal-data breach involving former pharmacy vendor Express Scripts. It is not known whether the breach, which led to an extortion threat against Express Scripts in early November, compromised any personal data for Washington…
MA: Computer stolen from hospital has patients' info
Bruno Matarazzo Jr. reports: Police and security at Salem Hospital are investigating the theft of a laptop computer that contained personal and medical information on approximately 50 patients. A Hewlett-Packard laptop was stolen from the cardiology department between late November and last Thursday, when hospital nursing staff reported the theft to Salem police. In the…
Putting data breach genie back in bottle? Good luck
Over on FierceHealthIT, Anne Zieger writes: […] The problem is, nobody can put the data breach genie back in the bottle once it’s gotten out. Once data has been compromised, even a company with the billions in revenue enjoyed by TJX can make consumers feel completely insecure. And paying a huge settlement won’t do a…
Courts in 2 states rule on reach of HIPAA in medical liability cases
Amy Lynn Sorrel reports: As HIPAA continues to raise hurdles for defendants in medical liability cases, courts in Georgia and Michigan addressed the role of the statute. The courts interpreted to what extent, if any, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act prevents a defendant physician’s attorney from informally interviewing a plaintiff’s prior or subsequent…