New Hampshire’s attempt to shield doctors’ prescription records from drug companies does not violate the Constitution, the First Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled. In a 148-page ruling made public today, the appeals court overturned a ruling by the state’s U.S. District Court, and found that keeping prescription records confidential does not violate the First…
Author: Dissent
Former Pa. nursing aide pleas guilty to ID theft
A former nurses assistant has admitted stealing the personal information of a 75-year-old patient from a suburban Philadelphia nursing home. Police say 28-year-old Jennifer Antonelli of Conshohocken stole a check from the patient’s room and used it to open accounts on the Internet and pay her and her boyfriend’s personal bills in 2007. […] At…
ME: Stolen Medical Files
Police are trying to figure out how someone stole files from the Downeast Community Hospital in Machias… They washed ashore in a river in Pembroke last week. Hospital officials say they had no idea the files were even missing, until they were contacted by a police officer. Read more on WABI-TV
UK: NHS medical research plan threatens patient privacy
John Carvel reports: The privacy of millions of NHS patients will be critically undermined by a government plan to let medical researchers have access to personal files, the health information watchdog told the Guardian last night. The prime minister and Department of Health want to give Britain’s research institutes an advantage against overseas competitors by…
VT: ACLU opposes 'genetic profiling' DNA bank sweeps put innocent under surveillance
Peter Hirschfeld reports: Lawmakers say a proposal to expand the state’s DNA database will better protect Vermont residents from violent criminals. But a civil liberties group argues that culling genetic samples from people not yet convicted of any crime could compromise rights to privacy guaranteed under the Vermont Constitution. The Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this…
MO: Former St. John's Employee Accused of Invasion of Privacy
Chris Grogan reports: When you go to a hospital facility, you expect your privacy will be protected. Yet for some women and children in the Ozarks, a hidden camera stole that right to privacy. On Friday, KOLR/KSFX confirmed a former St. John’s employee was fired due to these invasion of privacy allegations. Investigators say he…