Bruce Einhorn writes in BusinessWeek: For years, Americans have been traveling abroad to save money on elective procedures or dental work. David Boucher, 49, doesn’t fit the usual profile for such medical tourists. An assistant vice-president of health-care services at Blue Cross & Blue Shield of South Carolina, he has ample health benefits. But Boucher…
Category: Health Data
States of Guernsey: A serious breach
Seen on the ThisIsGuernsey web site: A MAJOR security flaw left exposed the whole of the States internet system and put at risk personal data belonging to individuals in a care home. At this stage, it is not known whether there has been any malicious access to the information.What was a catastrophe waiting to happen…
Our P2P Investigation Turns Up Business Data Galore
Avi Baumstein writes in InformationWeek: Are peer-to-peer networks really filled with sensitive corporate data just waiting to be plucked and abused? It seems unlikely–surely people wouldn’t be that sloppy. Like a 19th century prospector, I decided to dip my pan into the stream to see what I could find. The results were shocking and scary–loads…
California bill aims to open medical records
Dan Abendschein writes: Pharmaceutical companies could gain access to medical records to send reminders to patients to refill prescriptions, if a state bill is passed. The bill, SB 1096, was introduced by state Sen. Ron Calderon, D-Montebello. It allows pharmaceutical companies to purchase the information from the pharmacies that serve individual patients. But it does…
NZ: HC overturns BSA privacy decision
Steven Price writes in the Media Law Journal: Last August, the BSA upheld a complaint from Dr Stephanie du Fresne, the medical director of a mental health clinic, about an interview with one of her committed patients conducted without the clinic’s knowledge. TV3 News interviewed the woman about her electric shock treatment, which she didn’t…
E-medicine: It has strong devotees, but privacy issues slow growth of valuable programs
Getahn Ward writes in The Tennessean: With the click of a computer mouse, Nashville businessman Doug Smith can see his personal health records, including medical lab results, and communicate by e-mail with his doctors at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. That access came in handy recently when Smith saw a mention in radiology test results that…