Victoria E. Freile of the Democrat and Chronicle reports: New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that his office has filed charges against two certified nurse aides who worked in Rochester-area nursing homes. One aide allegedly used patients’ personal information to secure utility services for her home and the other aide allegedly falsified…
Author: Dissent
PA: Patients' records scattered outside abandoned clinic
Susan Evans reports in the Tribune-Democrat: Medical records at an abandoned and dilapidated clinic in Colver have been thrown around the building’s parking lot and on the side of the road, despite a county agency’s promises that patient information had been removed. Cambria Township police Officer Boyd Sherry confirmed that he responded to a call…
Bill would let pharmacies sell medical records
Elizabeth Fernandez of the San Francisco Chronicle reports: Pharmacies in California would be allowed to sell confidential patient prescription information to third-party marketing firms working for drug companies under a bill expected to be voted on Thursday by the state Senate. The legislation would allow pharmaceutical firms to send mailings directly to patients. Supporters of…
Hospitals, patients clash on privacy rights
Elizabeth Fernandez reports in the San Francisco Chronicle: Joan Broner, like many people, never reads the fine print at her medical appointments. As a consequence, the 58-year-old San Francisco resident, who has arthritis, regularly receives solicitation letters at home from several local hospitals. The letters infuriate her. “It feels like an invasion of privacy,” she…
Mt: New ID cards to store health records
Each new identity card to be introduced next year would contain an electronic chip containing the individual’s health record, Communications Minister Austin Gatt told Parliament yesterday. Moving the second reading of the Central Registry Bill, he said the information would be linked to Mater Dei Hospital, health clinics and, in time, to general practitioners’ clinics….
A Victory for Privacy: California Senate Rejects Bill to Allow Drug Marketing Firms Access to Patient Medical Records Without Consent
Zack Kaldveer of the Consumer Federation of California writes: The California Senate rejected a bill this week by a vote of 17 to 17 (21 needed to “passâ€) that would have allowed the sharing of a patient’s confidential medical information regarding prescription drugs among a pharmacy, third party corporations and pharmaceutical companies. The bill…