A Bronx, N.Y., man could receive up to seven years in prison after he stole a friend’s identity to obtain health insurance for treatment after a fall from a fire escape. Rasheem Tolliver, 27, was arrested after admitting to using a former acquaintance’s identity to cover injuries sustained as he tried to get into his…
Category: Health Data
Are Med-Student Tweets Breaching Patient Privacy?
Alice Park reports: […] A new survey of medical-school deans finds that unprofessional conduct on blogs and social-networking sites is common among medical students. Although med students fully understand patient-confidentiality laws and are indoctrinated in the high ethical standards to which their white-coated profession is held, many of them still use Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Flickr…
Armenian sentenced to time served in card skimming operation
The Associated Press reports that an Armenian, Artur Grigoryan, was sentenced to time served for his part in a card skimming operation that victimized customers of Rite Aid stores in Pennsylvania and Delaware. Grigoryan had already served two years and is expected to be deported to Armenia. His co-conspirator, Artur Harutyunyan, is set to be…
Jackson Memorial record theft case expands
Paul Brinkmann reports: A federal indictment relating to stolen patient records at Jackson Memorial Hospital has been expanded to include a second defendant, Maria Victoria Suarez. The grand jury indictment, originally filed in July, alleges that Suarez and her husband, Ruben Rodriguez of Miami, bought patient records illegally from Rebecca Garcia from November 2006 to…
Former nurse sentenced for stealing patients' identities
As a follow-up to a case reported previously, WSLS reports that former Lynchburg nurse Karen Priscilla Jones was sentenced in federal court to 34 months in prison, two years of supervised release, and $9,132 in restitution as well as $800 in special assessment fees. Jones had pleaded guilty to three counts of identity theft, two…
HHS guts health-care breach notification law, groups warn
Jaikumar Vijayan reports: Privacy and civil rights advocates accused the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services of trying to neuter a landmark data breach notification law for health care organizations that is scheduled to go into effect next week. The law would require any organization covered under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act…