Elizabeth Earl reports: The national attention on the risk of data breaches may be keeping patients from sharing information with physicians. A survey from Austin, Texas-based software advising firm Software Advice of 243 people found that 45 percent of respondents were moderately or very concerned about security breaches involving personal health information. Nearly a quarter,…
Category: U.S.
Hospital worker: Ex-husband’s email snooping violated patient rights
Priscilla DeGregory and Laura Italiano report: It was a new low — even for her already sneaky, abusive ex-husband. A New York anesthesiologist testified Wednesday that she was “completely shocked” to learn that her physician husband had been reading her emails for seven years — including as they separated, divorced, and battled over support and…
California Department of Justice Investigates Berkeley Health Center, and Look What Center Left Behind!
Sam Levin reports: In February, the Berkeley Health Center, a clinic that provided medical services to low-income patients, closed down in the wake of serious financial troubles, including allegations that it had mismanaged public funds. A federal judge forced the clinic out of its site at 2908 Ellsworth Street in South Berkeley after the nonprofit healthcare…
GA: 9 headed to prison for $5 million income tax scheme
Alexis Stevens reports: Nine people from metro Atlanta, including a former Social Security Administration employee, were sentenced to federal prison for their roles in a $5 million income tax scheme, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Wednesday. The scheme involved stolen identities from more than 1,000 people, Acting U.S. Attorney John Horn said in an emailed…
PA: Last year’s UPMC data breach affecting some employees’ tax returns
Bofta Yimam reports that a breach reported in 2014 that resulted in over 800 cases of tax refund fraud for University of Pittsburgh Medical Center employees may still be impacting employees this year: If you work for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, you may have to wait for your tax refund because of the…
IL: Trial in doubt for medical ID theft case
Way back when, I had written myself a note about a case in which five Indiana residents had been indicted on charges that related to an ID fraud conspiracy involving theft of patient information. According to the press release in December 2013 from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Indiana, the five individuals were indicted November…