Bryn Nelson of MSNBC writes: A perceptive palm reader is helping one of the largest healthcare systems in the U.S. divine the true identities of its patients, ushering in a new era of biometric identity verification. The device, resembling a small black cube and manufactured by Tokyo-based Fujitsu Corp., uses a vascular pattern recognition system…
Author: Dissent
UK: Is patient data being abused?
Nosy neighbours are bad enough, but this is worse than peering through the net curtains. Health Service Journal (June 26) reports that trusts do not punish staff caught snooping on patients’ records. Sian Thomas, the acting joint director of NHS Employers, told the NHS Confederation’s annual conference that there was evidence that trusts around the…
Dallas Judge Gives Woman 38 Years For ID Theft
CBS in Dallas reports: A woman who stole thousands of dollars from North Texas nursing home patients and fast food customers and employees will face the longest identity theft sentence in Dallas County history. It is often said that authorities try to ‘send a message’ with the sentences they hand down. Monday Furnioes Parker received…
UK: Patient files stolen with laptop (update1)
A laptop containing the personal details of several thousand patients has been stolen from the car of a senior hospital manager, who is now suspended. A patient told the BBC he received a letter saying the computer was taken on 18 June in Scotland from the car of a Colchester University Hospital manager. The unencrypted…
AU: 'Serious breach': medical records found in park
Investigations are under way into how a shipping container full of medical waste and records were dumped in the grounds of the former Magic Kingdom fun park in Sydney’s South West. The container was discovered by fire fighters at the Lansvale property after catching alight. Police said it was likely the container had been there…
UK: Ambulance Chiefs Cleared Over Lost Disk
Martin Williams reports on RedOrbit: AMBULANCE service executives were not to blame for the loss of details of almost one million 999 emergency medical calls, including caller numbers and patient names, Scotland’s Health Secretary said yesterday. Nicola Sturgeon said she was satisfied that the Scottish Ambulance Service had followed guidelines and the missing information, lost…