Keith L. Martin provides a follow-up to a breach reported at the beginning of December. Delaware’s insurance commissioner seems to have moved quickly on this case: BlueCross BlueShield of Delaware is hoping to return an early Christmas gift by state insurance commissioner Matt Denn: a fine of $150,000. Following a Dec. 24 hearing, Denn levied…
Category: Health Data
Delaware Insurance Commissioner fines Blue Cross $150,000 for privacy violations
Keith L. Martin reports: BlueCross BlueShield of Delaware is hoping to return an early Christmas gift by state insurance commissioner Matt Denn: a fine of $150,000. Following a Dec. 24 hearing, Denn levied the fine, the maximum permitted under state law, against the Wilmington, Del.-based insurer for mistakenly disclosing the private medical information of 3,800…
UK: Derriford Hospital’s data losses revealed
Confidential data from Derriford Hospital has been lost or stolen 17 times during the past two years, health chiefs have admitted. The theft of seven hospital laptops, patient blood results being sent to the wrong address and members of the public accessing sensitive files are among data problems recorded since January 2007. The hospital revealed…
UK: Medical notes sent to a stranger
Medical notes of three Dudley patients have been sent in error to a stranger in the town prompting concerns over a government agency’s data security. Rod Phillips, 59, was told he was ineligible for a disability pension and took the matter to tribunal. He said he was alarmed to find three people’s medical notes enclosed…
Medical errors, apologies and apology laws
Noni MacDonald, MD MSc and Amir Attaran, LLB DPhi have an editorial in the current issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal that addresses the need for apologies when a medical error occurs. The article describes the history of such laws in the U.S. in the 1990’s: […] Full disclosure to the patient is the…
Stunning breach of confidentiality in Travolta tragedy
As Americans, we are indoctrinated with the notion of patient confidentiality. But what happened in the recent Jett Travolta tragedy should remind us that the protections we may have here may not apply if health care is provided out of the country. By now, most of the world knows that actor John Travolta’s son died…