Robyn Hagan Cain writes: Does the unauthorized disclosure of confidential medical information by a clinic’s employee create a right of action for breach of a fiduciary duty against the clinic under New York law? Does it matter if the blabbermouth employee acted outside the scope of her employment? If she was not the plaintiff’s treating…
Category: Health Data
Class action lawsuit filed against hospital, former staff and Fleming College
A lawsuit has been filed in Canada in the wake of a snooping breach reported last year: A multi-million dollar lawsuit has been filed against the Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC), some of its former staff members and Fleming College. The lawsuit comes after 280 patient files at the hospital were breached. Information regarding the…
Update: HHS opens investigation into Monroeville 911 dispatch center for possible violations of privacy and security rules
Back in October, I commented on a complaint filed with HHS by the Monroeville, Pennsylvania Assistant Chief of Police. In August 2012, Chief Pascarella alleged that the town’s emergency dispatch service had been disclosing what should have been confidential information to his former boss, who, having retired, should no longer have been receiving copies…
Recent Oregon Health & Science University breach was their fourth breach involving unencrypted information
As I read coverage around the internet, I saw a few reports on the recent OSHU breach that mentioned it was OHSU’s third reported HIPAA breach since 2009. Actually, it’s only the second breach that will appear on HHS’s breach tool, but it’s important to note that this was OHSU’s fourth HIPAA breach that we…
OHSU laptop containing patient information stolen from researcher's vacation rental home
KATU reports: Oregon Health and Science University is contacting more than 4,000 patients after a laptop containing some of their personal information was stolen from a vacation rental home in Hawaii last month. Information from 4,022 patients was on the computer, according to OHSU spokesman Jim Newman. The surgeon who had the computer was using…
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center notifies patients of billing statement breach
On March 22, MyHighPlains.com reported that Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) had experienced a breach that resulted in 700 patients’ billing statements being sent to the wrong addresses. The breach was also disclosed that day on TTUHSC’s web site and in a press release identical to the statement posted on their web site. In…