Elizabeth Fernandez of the San Francisco Chronicle reports: Information on thousands of UCSF patients was accessible on the Internet for more than three months last year, a possible violation of federal privacy regulations that might have exposed the patients to medical-identity theft, The Chronicle has learned. The information accessible online included names and addresses of…
Category: Health Data
Oops: a breach notification revealed too much
When Drexel University College of Medicine experienced a breach due to the theft of a computer, they notified states attorney general as required by various state laws. But because only one resident of Maryland was affected by the breach, Drexel included a copy of the notification letter to the patient when they notified the Maryland…
Ie: Outrage as patient files unearthed
Fury and concern were today expressed by doctors and medical groups that confidential medical records were dumped and ended up lying in a field. Medical files containing sensitive information were discovered in a former landfill near the Elm Tree bar in Glounthaune —being excavated for the Cork-Midleton rail line — by a local woman 48…
Audit: NJ lacks computer security for personal Medicaid data
Tom Hester, Jr. reports: New Jersey has not monitored access to key personal information in a computer system that tracks care for the poor, leaving no way to know if Social Security numbers and other information about doctors and patients have been misused, a recent state audit found. The analysis determined that the state Department…
NY: 88,000 patients at risk after computer theft
Glenn Nyback reports in the Staten Island Advance: Computer equipment stolen from an administrative office in Rosebank in December contained personal information about 88,000 patients who have been treated at Staten Island University Hospital. After four months with no arrests, hospital administrators are just now beginning the process of sending letters to patients whose names,…
View: Top Privacy and Security Developments for the Health Care Industry
Kirk J. Nahra’s talk on “Top Privacy and Security Developments for the Health Care Industry” at the 15th National HIPAA Summit is available for free online viewing.