As part of following up on a breach involving the insecure disposal of health insurance applications (reported previously on this blog), I wanted to learn more about how insurance carriers respond to this type of breach. So I emailed questions to Aetna and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida asking whether their contracts with the…
Category: Health Data
WA: Grays Harbor Pediatrics Backup Device Stolen
A substitute notice/press release on a breach in Washington State: Grays Harbor Pediatrics discovered on November 23, 2010 that a computer backup device was stolen from a Grays Harbor Pediatric employee. The backup device was used for storing copies of paper records. Grays Harbor Pediatrics has notified all patients and patient billing guarantors. An investigation…
Ca: Privacy at risk after burglary at doctor's office
Earlier today I posted a news item about how Medicare numbers of some New Brunswick, Canada patients were being reissued after a breach involving a clinic. This report, below, suggests that the breach was worse than originally reported: New Brunswick’s privacy commissioner says a break-in this month at a Woodstock doctor’s office poses a serious…
UK: Organ donation preferences of over 400,000 people recorded inaccurately
From the Information Commissioner’s Office: The organ donation preferences of 444,031 people were recorded inaccurately on the Organ Donation Register (ODR) due to a software error, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said today. In March 2010 NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT), who manage the Register, discovered irregularities between the organ donation information stated on Driver…
Management Services Organization (MSO) enters into resolution agreement with HHS
From HHS: On December 13, 2010, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) entered into a Resolution Agreement with Management Services Organization Washington, Inc. (MSO), to settle potential violations of the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act Privacy and Security Rules. This settlement arose from and was made in coordination with the HHS…
Ca: Patients get new medicare cards after break-in
The Canadian Press reports: The New Brunswick Health Department is issuing new medicare numbers to some Carleton County patients after a recent break-in. A number of items including laptop computers were stolen from a medical clinic in Woodstock earlier this month. Read more on Metro.