Elaine Warburton of Genetics & Health writes: Continuing G&H’s exclusive interview with Navigenics’ Medical Director Dr Michael Nierenberg, we explore the whole issue of privacy, insurance, GINA and ethics….. One of the main consumer concerns is that of privacy of information, both in terms that a genetic test has been undertaken but also that the…
Author: Dissent
Snooping in records has a history at UCLA
Charles Ornstein of the Los Angeles Times reports: Though UCLA Medical Center has portrayed recent privacy breaches as the rare actions of rogue employees, the hospital has known since at least 1995 that staffers were peeking into the medical records of such prominent patients as Tom Cruise and Mariah Carey — and even spying on…
B.C. introduces law governing access, privacy of electronic health records
The Canadian Press reports: British Columbians will soon be able to use their computers to view their health records, Health Minister George Abbott said Thursday after introducing legislation governing access and privacy for electronic health information databases. British Columbia became the first province in Canada to create a legislative framework with specific provisions to address…
Four Charged In ID Theft Scheme
The following AP story is a follow-up to a story they reported last month: A former Rhode Island Hospital security guard and three former RadioShack workers have been charged in a scheme to steal the identity of hospital patients. A federal grand jury indictment filed Wednesday alleges Michael Bermudez obtained patients’ names, dates of birth…
Dell to Offer Online Health Records
Dell has announced plans to go live this month with personal health records for as many of its 25,000 U.S. employees who want to use them. The company announced the initiative with WebMD April 10, at a health care forum attended by Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt.”The widespread adoption of health…
The Man Who Lost His Name and His Genetic Identity
For privacy advocates, the name “Eric Drew” immediately evokes a few images: a man expected to die of leukemia, a sleazy lab tech stealing his details and using it for ID theft, and Drew doing battle — against the leukemia, against the ID thief, and then against credit reporting agencies who refused to clear his…