AP reports: A health insurer in western New York and affiliates said Wednesday that their computers were targeted last month in a cyberattack that may have provided unauthorized access to more than 10 million personal records. Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, headquartered in Rochester, and Lifetime Healthcare Companies said they’re offering affected individuals in upstate New York…
Category: Health Data
NZ: Snooping MidCentral Health nurse censured
Janine Rankin reports: A Palmerston North Hospital nurse who snooped on patients’ medical records has been censured by the Health Practitioners’ Disciplinary Tribunal. Elizabeth Raju was sacked in 2014 after a hospital audit revealed the confidentiality breaches. […] The Tribunal rejected Raju’s excuse that there was a culture at the hospital of health professionals looking…
Harbottle Surgery: NHS accused of data protection breach
Is this a case of good intentions paving the road to a data protection breach? Can the NHS just transfer a patient’s records to another practice without the patient’s consent, even if they mean well? BBC reports: NHS bosses have been accused of breaking data protection law by passing on medical records without consent. Harbottle…
Ex-director of Baton Rouge drug rehab admits to using patient info to get prescription pills
There’s an update to a case noted previously on this site. Emily Lane reports that Shanta Barnes pleaded guilty in federal court yesterday to charges of health care fraud and aggravated identity theft. The scheme, according U.S. Attorney Walt Green’s office, started in June 2009, at the latest, and lasted less than a year at the facility…
Even encrypted medical record databases leak information
Jeremy Kirk reports: A new study from Microsoft researchers warns that many types of databases used for electronic medical records are vulnerable to leaking information despite the use of encryption. The paper, due to be presented at the ACM Conference on Computer and Communications Security next month, shows how sensitive medical information on patients could be…
Calif. Jury Clears UCLA In $1.25M Medical Data Breach Suit
Bonnie Eslinger reports: The University of California, Los Angeles Health System was not responsible for the unauthorized release of a woman’s medical records by a romantic rival, a California jury decided Thursday, rejecting her lawyer’s arguments that the victim was due $1.25 million for emotional harm caused by the breach. Read more on Law360 (subscription…