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,…
Category: Health Data
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…
GA: Medical Records From Ob-Gyn Found In Dumpster
Woodstock police have opened an investigation into the discovery of hundreds of confidential medical records discarded in a Dumpster outside the former office of a Cherokee County Ob-Gyn. Acting on a tip, Channel 2 Action News reporter Tom Regan went to the medical park off Highway 92 in Woodstock. In the Dumpster, Regan discovered garbage…
Connecticut Fines Health Net $375,000 For Security Breach Last Year
I’m was somewhat confused by this news reports of another Health Net settlement with Connecticut over a 2009 breach. Matthew Sturdevant reports: Health Net faces a $375,000 fine for a security breach that happened last year at the insurer’s Northeast headquarters in Shelton, the Connecticut Insurance Department said Monday. A portable, external hard drive was lost or stolen…