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…
Author: Dissent
UK: Rogue doctor accessed files for ‘unknown reasons’
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…
CA: Private medical records found in trash
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…
University of Utah follow-up: Plea deal offered in stolen medical records case
KSL reported on Nov. 14: Prosecutors say they’ve offered a plea deal to two men accused of obtaining stolen medical records. Thomas Anderson and Shadd Hartman each are charged with one count of felony theft by receiving stolen property and a count of unlawful possession of another’s identification documents. The Salt Lake Tribune reports prosecutors…
Ca: Privacy boss raises health data concerns
Warning – Alberta’s privacy commissioner said this week he is worried about potential changes to the provincial health information act that will make it more difficult for patients to control their medical information. Under the proposed amendments to the legislation, Frank Work believes albertans will no longer be able to prevent their most sensitive medical…
EDPS opinion on patients' rights: specific data protection dimension of cross-border healthcare needs to be addressed in more concrete terms
On 2 December 2008, the European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) adopted an opinion on a proposal for a Directive on the application of patients’ rights in cross-border healthcare. The proposal aims at establishing a Community framework for the provision of cross-border healthcare within the European Union (EU) for those occasions where the care patients…