Rick Weiss has a fascinating piece in the Washington Post that describes current trends in using DNA in the courts and that provides a recap of the history of DNA use in the legal system: Twenty years after DNA fingerprints were first admitted by American courts as a way to link suspects to crime scenes,…
Category: Health Data
Ph: Hospitals review policies in light of YouTube case
Jeannette Andrade, Kara Andrade, and Jerome Aning of the Philippine Daily Inquirer report: Hospitals in the Central Visayas region are strengthening their policies on patients’ right to privacy, particularly the prohibition of cellular phones and cameras in operating rooms, after an embarrassing video of a rectal operation found its way on the worldwide video-sharing site…
Health data missing: HealthAlliance PDA lost
Lisa Eckelbecker of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette reports: The healthcare system Central New England HealthAlliance has sent letters to 384 patients notifying them that their personal information, including Social Security numbers and health insurance information, may be vulnerable because a hand-held computer used by a home health nurse is missing. […] In a letter…
700,000 people could be affected by security breach
A collection agency announced a security breach Friday that potentially compromises the personal information of 700,000 people. The Central Collection Bureau said the breach happened on March 21, 2008. The company said thieves broke into its offices and stole eight computers, as well as one of its servers. The server, which was password protected and…
Court blocks broad subpoena of patient records
Amy Lynn Sorrel of American Medical News reports: Louisiana physicians who were getting roped into the state’s lawsuit against a pharmaceutical company won a recent victory in their effort to defend their patients’ privacy. But doctors’ involvement in the case may not be over just yet. The Louisiana attorney general is suing Janssen Pharmaceutica Inc.,…
Ca: Patient file fallout
Joan Walters writes more in the Hamilton Spectator about an incident reported here yesterday: Three investigations have been launched into patient confidentiality after sensitive health files from a Hamilton hospital were found in an Etobicoke dumpster. St. Joseph’s Healthcare was trying yesterday to reach all seven families affected after records of their children’s stay in…