Julie Robotham reports: A $40,000 damages order for misusing a mentally ill patient’s medical records has sent a strong privacy warning to hospitals. The compensation, awarded to a man who was a patient of the same public hospital where he worked [the former Northern Sydney Central Coast Area Health Service], is the maximum allowable in…
Category: Health Data
Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital breach notice
I finally tracked down an explanation for a breach entry in HHS’s breach tool that read: Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital,TX,, 654, 12/23/2010,Unknown ,Electronic Medical Record,, I had reported it on this blog last week, but here’s the undated notice that explains it: Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital is notifying our patients about a breach…
HK: Leak fear as hospital loses patient details
A flash drive containing patients’ personal details has gone missing at Queen Mary Hospital, nine months after it was stored in a ward. A clerk at the hospital’s department of pediatrics discovered the loss on Monday, and informed management the following day. The device is not encrypted or password-protected. It contains a data file with…
Too-expansive access control lands NHS Birmingham East and North in breach of the Data Protection Act
NHS Birmingham East and North (BEN) breached the Data Protection Act by failing to restrict access to files on their IT network, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) announced today. The breach, which was discovered by BEN on September 8, led to some NHS staff at their own Trust and two other NHS Trusts nearby potentially…
Rhode Island board disciplines doctor after Facebook description of case results in patient being recognized
Thomas J. Morgan reports: A physician who posted information on Facebook that allowed the identification of a patient, and another who has problems with alcohol and marijuana, are among six doctors who have been disciplined by the Rhode Island Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline. The board found Alexandra Thran, of Westerly Hospital, guilty of…
Saskatchewan privacy commissioner takes action after more medical records found in dumpsters
Taylor Shire reports: REGINA — Four more cases of medical files being found in dumpsters has prompted the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner, Gary Dickson, to take action. Records were found in a Saskatoon dumpster on April 6 and materials were found outside a dumpster in northwest Regina two days later. Two other situations of…