Donna Vanderpool, M.B.A., J.D., assistant vice president for risk management at PRMS Inc., has an article in the April 18 issue of Psychiatric News. Here’s part of the article: HIPAA’s Privacy Rule permits covered psychiatrists who choose to keep psychotherapy notes to deny patients access to those notes. The Privacy Rule definition of psychotherapy notes…
Author: Dissent
Is the Medical Establishment the Best Guardian of Your Medical Data?
David C. Kibbe, MD, MBA and Vince Kuraitis provide more food for thought on the e-CareManagement blog: Drs. Mandl and Kohane begin their recent article in NEJM with the statement that “large corporations are seeking an integral and transformative role in the management of health care information,†and then warn that this “will profoundly affect…
DNA Tests Offer Deeper Examination Of Accused
Rick Weiss has a fascinating piece in the Washington Post that describes current trends in using DNA in the courts and that provides a recap of the history of DNA use in the legal system: Twenty years after DNA fingerprints were first admitted by American courts as a way to link suspects to crime scenes,…
Ph: Hospitals review policies in light of YouTube case
Jeannette Andrade, Kara Andrade, and Jerome Aning of the Philippine Daily Inquirer report: Hospitals in the Central Visayas region are strengthening their policies on patients’ right to privacy, particularly the prohibition of cellular phones and cameras in operating rooms, after an embarrassing video of a rectal operation found its way on the worldwide video-sharing site…
Health data missing: HealthAlliance PDA lost
Lisa Eckelbecker of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette reports: The healthcare system Central New England HealthAlliance has sent letters to 384 patients notifying them that their personal information, including Social Security numbers and health insurance information, may be vulnerable because a hand-held computer used by a home health nurse is missing. […] In a letter…
700,000 people could be affected by security breach
A collection agency announced a security breach Friday that potentially compromises the personal information of 700,000 people. The Central Collection Bureau said the breach happened on March 21, 2008. The company said thieves broke into its offices and stole eight computers, as well as one of its servers. The server, which was password protected and…