FT. LAUDERDALE (November 10, 2010) – Holy Cross Hospital announced today that it has begun sending letters to notify some of its hospital Emergency Room patients of a possible compromise of personal data from patient data sheets and to offer free credit monitoring services. Holy Cross Hospital was informed by federal authorities that personal data…
Category: Health Data
UK: Security alert over NHS data breach
Alison Dayani reports: A severe security alert has been issued over confidential NHS medical records of every Birmingham patient being left open to breach, the Birmingham Post can reveal. The National Information Commissioner has ordered an investigation into access of IT files held by Birmingham Primary Care Shared Services Agency, which holds all staff and…
Jury Awards Woman $100K Over Before-and-After Cosmetic Surgery Photos
Dan O’Connor reports: Before-and-after neck-to-knees photos of a 64-year-old cosmetic surgery patient that somehow appeared in a newspaper article about her surgeon without her permission are at the center of a federal lawsuit in St. Louis. Last November, a jury awarded $100,000 to the plaintiff, identified in court records only as Jane Doe from Bartow,…
Identity Theft Reported By 33% Of Healthcare Organizations
Nicole Lewis reports: A Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) survey has revealed that 33% of respondents said their organization has had at least one known case of medical identity theft, and that some cases may never be reported. In addition, only 17% of respondents working for medical practices said they were likely to…
New Ponemon study: patient data inadequately protected, many hospitals do not notify patients of breaches
The Ponemon Institute has released a new study sponsored by ID Experts, “Benchmark Study on Patient Privacy and Data Security.” The study examined hospitals’ patient privacy practices, breaches involving patient information, and compliance policies and activities. Sixty-five healthcare organizations participated in the study. The healthcare organizations participating in the study were described as integrated delivery…
Taiwanese Gov Workers Breach HIV Privacy Law
An HIV/AIDS advocacy group has condemned Taiwanese government workers after several of them shared private information about the HIV statuses of citizens drafted into the military. After government officials alerted the parents of a man who was drafted that he was HIV-positive, his father kicked him out of the house, Chang Cheng-hsueh of Persons with…