Category: Health Data

And speaking of outrageous breaches, Elise Viebeck reports: A top House committee launched another probe of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Tuesday after a lawsuit alleged that the agency improperly seized millions of personal medical records in California. In a letter, Republican leaders on the Energy and Commerce panel asked the IRS to explain how it…

I don’t know if you can hear me, but I generally groan when I read a settlement that permits the party to make no admission of guilt. The FTC permits it, and HHS also permits it. I understand why they may choose to do that, but seriously, there are some breaches that are just so…

Paula McMahon reports on yet another case of insider data theft involving patients in Florida: Curtis Fullwood’s job was to help patients with mental health problems find work they could do in the South Florida State Hospital in Pembroke Pines, but instead, authorities say, he stole their identities. Fullwood, 57, and his cousin, Terri Davis, 45, have pleaded…

Associated Press reports: A statewide database aimed at cracking down on the state’s pill mills leaked thousands of patients’ personal information, even though some of the details were not part of any criminal investigation, the American Civil Liberties Union said Tuesday. Personal details, including dosage amounts, birthdates, addresses and other information was given to Volusia…

As noted previously, Independence Care System in New York notified 2,434 patients after a laptop containing their PHI was stolen on May 7. ICS kindly provided PHIprivacy.net with a copy of their substitute notice of May 31st: New York City Managed Long-Term Care Plan announces theft of laptop containing member information. On May 7, 2013, Independence Care…

Here’s one that you won’t see on HHS’s breach tool because it affected fewer than 500 patients: Emmorton Associates (Emmorton Psych/Emmorton Treatment Services) in Abingdon, Maryland discovered that a counselor’s locked office file cabinet had been broken into sometime between December 10 and December 21. The files on 75 patients included their full names, date…