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…
Author: Dissent
UK: Doctors' body welcomes NHS patient-record access changes
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…
2 NM hospital employees fired for photographing patients and posting the pictures on Web
Heather Clark of the Associated Press reports: Two University of New Mexico Hospital employees have been fired for using their cell phone cameras to take photos of patients receiving treatment and then posting the images to a social networking Web site. Director of Public Affairs Sam Giammo said Sunday the photos — mainly close-ups of…
Report: HHS fails to address electronic health record privacy protections
While the Department of Health and Human Services has taken positive actions to implement electronic health records, it still does not have a system for addressing issues of privacy protection, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office. HHS implemented several measures to address these concerns following the release of a January 2007…
UK: Private companies could get access to millions of NHS medical records
nbsp; The Government is considering giving firms access to a massive computer database which will contain the records of almost every man, woman and child in England. The information is a goldmine for private companies, who could use it for medical research or for helping them to sell products to the NHS. But privacy campaigners…
Comments Sought on How Patient Consent Will Work in Electronic Exchange
Draft recommendations released this week by the New York eHealth Collaborative (NYeC) describe how patient consent should be obtained before a patient’s health information is exchanged electronically between entities participating in a regional health information organization (RHIO). The recommendations are part of a draft white paper released for public comment, developed by NYeC’s privacy and…