Author: Dissent

Jennifer Nelson reports: When Brandon Sharp, 37, of Spring, Tex., applied for his first home loan, his lender called with bad news: The $20,000 in unpaid hospital bills on his credit report had damaged his chances for a mortgage. But Sharp hadn’t had any health problems. He was a victim of medical ID theft. Someone…

Brian Wheeler reports: The idea of people you have never met before leafing through your medical records would make most people a little uneasy. Even if the people in question are highly qualified health professionals. Read more in the BBC

Dan Shortridge reports: A printing error disclosed the private medical information of about 3,700 Blue Cross Blue Shield members in Delaware to other insurance company subscribers. People who were affected by the problem should have received letters today notifying them of the accidental disclosure. […] The problem centers around explanation of benefits forms that were…

Karen Welles of WPXI reports: From April 2003 until the end of last year, the federal government has received nearly 1,500 complaints from patients in Pennsylvania, alleging privacy violations under HIPAA. One case has angered local women so much that they switched doctors. It centers on a myspace page created in the name of Stephanie…

Helen Puttick reports: Seven prominent BBC journalists are among a group of patients who have been warned that their personal health records may have been inappropriately accessed by a doctor. In a letter from NHS Fife, the patients, who include presenter Jackie Bird and Elizabeth Quigley, the reporter wife of Finance Secretary John Swinney, have…

Salvador Hernandez reports: Boxes with documents detailing confidential patient information, such as Social Security numbers and personal medical history, were found discarded next to a medical office building, which officials said could be a violation of patient confidentiality laws. The documents, which were retrieved by a doctor about 90 minutes after they were discovered, could…