George Lauer, iHealthBeat Features Editor writes: Patient privacy advocates were busy last week, lobbying for and getting new privacy provisions in the stalled Wired for Health Care Quality Act, authored by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and 15 other lawmakers. Expected to be introduced in new legislation as early as this month, the process may become…
Category: Health Data
California Insurance Commission: Personal Health Records: A Helpful Tool for A Healthier You
From their report [pdf]: Executive Summary: A Personal Health Record (PHR) is an evolving consumer tool for health record-keeping that is available to many members of California insurers or Managed Care Organizations (MCOs). Different from Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) which aggregate detailed clinical information, PHRs generally operate like a “calendar of medical events†and…
UF Doctor Quits After Putting Medical Records at Risk (update)
As a follow-up to a story we reported here: The private health information of 1900 local patients may have been compromised when a Jacksonville doctor gave his computer away. Dr. Francis D. Ong resigned from his position as a University of Florida assistant professor of plastic surgery at the College of Medicine-Jacksonville. UF privacy officials…
Canada: Calgary seniors' health information on stolen computers
Dozens of Calgary seniors are alarmed after learning their credit-card numbers, addresses and health-card numbers were stored on computers that were stolen recently. The Academy Hearing Centre in Brentwood Mall, which provides hearing tests and equipment, mostly to seniors, recently mailed out letters warning of the theft. “I got scared,” said one elderly female client…
Google defends privacy policy after Google Health launch
Richard Thurston reports in SC Magazine: Google has defended its privacy policy following the launch of a service which offers to manage users’ medical information online. Google yesterday launched Google Health, a hosted service which allows users to store and manage information regarding their health online, and share that information with nominated individuals. Privacy campaigners…
NHS to encrypt 700,000 devices
Richard Thurston reports in SC Magazine: Connecting for Health, the NHS agency behind the troubled National Programme for IT, is to purchase 700,000 encryption licences for its desktop PCs, laptops and smartphones. The encryption software, which will be provided by McAfee, should help limit the impact of any further data loss. Full story – SC…