The Malaysian High Court has told surgeons in the country to obtain their female patients’ consent before taking pictures of their intimate parts. Judicial Commissioner Chew Soo Ho, in allowing the claim by former reporter Lee Ewe Poh, 51, against general and colorectal surgeon Dr Lim Teik Mau and Loh Guan Lye and Sons Sdn…
Category: Health Data
URMC notifies patients of possible privacy breach
The University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) has sent letters to patients seen by one of its surgeons over the last three years, alerting them to the possibility that their personal health information may be at risk. Earlier this week, URMC notified 837 current and former surgery patients that one of the doctors who cared…
Health Clinics Often Fail to Keep Patient Data Private
Just to add to the global perspective, this recent news story from YLE describes a survey conducted in Finland: Private health clinics often fail to keep patients’ data secure, according to a recent survey by the Office of the Data Protection Ombudsman. Meanwhile, the public sector was found to work harder to keep information private….
West Virginia accounting firm employee sentenced for ID theft
Tina Holsopple, 44, of Culloden, West Virginia, was sentenced yesterday by United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. to fourteen months in prison. She was also ordered to pay restitution to the Poca Valu Rite pharmacy in the amount of $146,494.91 for identity theft. Holsopple pleaded guilty to the federal charge in May 2010,…
Ca: Stolen Burnaby hospital laptop contained patients’ private information (updated)
The private information of several patients may have been breached after the theft of a laptop computer from a hospital in Burnaby, B.C. David Plug of the Fraser Health Authority says the laptop contained confidential patient information including the birth dates and test results of patients who visited the Pulmonary Function Lab at Burnaby General…
HHS web site update reveals another new breach
In its most recent update, HHS added seven reports to its site. Interestingly, we already knew something about six of the incidents via notices on the entities’ web sites or media coverage, which I attribute to HITECH’s new requirements. Entities realize that they have to disclose and are getting the information out more promptly and…