Dr. Edward V. Craig comments on msnbc.com: […] His words rushed back to me recently as I read on the Internet of two headline-grabbing instances where doctors appeared to have deeply violated patient trust. Last week, a Philippine hospital recommended possible dismissal of a group of surgeons and a nurse whose rowdy, unprofessional behavior while…
Author: Dissent
Someone's put their foot in it at Boots
Martin Waller of Times Online writes: Boots is the latest company to be embarrassed by the loss of confidential information after a drug addict stole a back-up tape with details of customers to whom the company had sold dental insurance. Boots is blaming Medisure, the insurer, which is blaming the security firm that was transporting…
Vendors, stakeholders aim to dispel privacy myths about EHRs
Diana Manos writes in Healthcare IT News: Healthcare IT vendors and other stakeholders at a recent Capitol Hill briefing sought to dispel what they called “privacy myths” concerning electronic health records. “People are scaring lawmakers about data flying around the Internet,” said Justin Barnes, a board member of the Confidentiality Coalition and vice president of…
Contractor or vendor woes (commentary)
A few recent breaches involving health information have gotten me thinking more about contractor or third party data losses. Is our reaction to such incidents the same as it would be if the hospital, insurance company, or other covered entities directly experienced the breach or loss themselves? Is there some psychological reaction whereby the more…
From DNA of Family, a Tool to Make Arrests
The Washington Post continues in its focus on DNA and the legal system. Following up on yesterday’s story, Ellen Nakashima reports: He was a church-going father of two, and for more than 30 years Dennis Rader eluded police in the Wichita area, killing 10 people and signing taunting letters with a self-styled monogram: BTK, for…
UK: Court sent me people's secret files
George Hamilton reports in the Oxford Mail: Oxford County Court has tightened its security procedures after a member of staff mistakenly sent sensitive medical information and National Insurance numbers to a woman trying to settle her parking fines. Emma Kelly said she was worried identity fraudsters could have capitalised on the error, which saw a…