Here we go again: a cellphone being used to steal patient info. Dana Treen reports: Names and Social Security numbers of 261 people were illegally photographed at a Shands Jacksonville clinic then transmitted to another person, according to an arrest report in the case. Daremia Nikeka Crews, 24, of the 5300 block of Saginaw Avenue…
Category: Health Data
Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford notifying 57,000 patients after laptop stolen from physician's car
From their press release, issued yesterday: Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford and the Stanford University School of Medicine are notifying patients by mail that a password-protected laptop computer containing limited medical information on pediatric patients was stolen from a physician’s car away from campus on the night of January 9, 2013. This incident was…
Former patient claims confidentiality breach in Prime Healthcare lawsuit
When the CEO of Prime Healthcare and Shasta Regional Medical Center disclosed patient records in trying to defend themselves against a media report, I immediately noted that without the patient’s consent, they could not do that. Despite what was so obvious to most of us, they defended their disclosure, claiming that the patient had waived…
Ca: Info on 25,000 patients lost in Montfort Hospital security lapse
Chris Cobb reports: Montfort Hospital officials were scrambling on Friday to reassure thousands of patients that an unsecured USB data key lost by a hospital employee did not contain intimate details of their health issues. Information on the USB key, downloaded from a Montfort computer in contravention of hospital rules, contained information on more than…
At long last, HHS unveils Modifications to the HIPAA Privacy, Security, Enforcement, and Breach Notification Rules
From their press release: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) moved forward today to strengthen the privacy and security protections for health information established under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). The final omnibus rule greatly enhances a patient’s privacy protections, provides individuals new rights to their health…
St. Mark's Medical Center notifies patients after finding malware on system
St. Mark’s Medical Center in LaGrange, Texas notified 2,988 patients of a breach. From their notice of December 31, 2012: On November 15, 2012, we learned that on May 21, 2012, one of our employee’s computers had become infected with malware that appears to have been designed to look for personal information stored on the computer….