Author: Dissent

Greg Baxter reports: New standards on information security in the health sector have been issued by the International Organisation for Standards (ISO), an international body composed of representatives from various national standards organisations. The new guidelines address the increasing use of wireless and internet technologies in healthcare delivery, and the consequent growth of electronic exchange…

Craig Schneider reports: Private medical records of Grady Memorial Hospital patients were made public on the Internet, in a way that has become an increasing concern to information security experts. Human error — not hackers — apparently caused the medical records of 45 patients to make their way onto an unsecured Web site in July,…

David Leonard reports: St, Petersburg, Florida- Some say the lines in your hand can reveal your future, your love life, and prosperity. St. Anthony’s Hospital in St. Petersburg is using a palm scanner to protect your identity and medical records. Read more on Tampa Bay’s 10 News

  The World Privacy Forum filed comments today with the Office of Human Research Protection urging the office to do more to protect the privacy of people who are subjects of research. The comments urge the OHRP to focus more attention on providing privacy-specific training for boards overseeing research, which are often weak in knowledge…

After Elizabeth Dove saw her GP about suspected depression she was dismayed and angry to find that her sensitive NHS records were put on a database which was shared with staff at the local council. But it was no mistake: Dove discovered that it is routine for the NHS to make medical information on some…

Leo King reports: The British Medical Association has said it would have preferred patients to be asked by their GP before information was uploaded to a central NHS data ‘spine’ under the £12.7 billion National Programme for IT. But it said new rules that mean doctors have to ask for patients’ permission to view their…