Gareth Rose reports: An investigation is under way into a breach of patient confidentiality at one of Scotland’s biggest hospitals after a cleaner looked up a young mother’s medical records on a computer and used them to pester her online. The worker noticed the woman while she was being treated at the hospital’s accident and…
Category: Health Data
Personal info from more than 500 patients on Web
Associated Press reports that a patient in Alaska conducting a Google search discovered that patient records were exposed on the web and notified the police. Dr. Paul Beane, a chiropractor at the Sitka Wellness Center, told the [Daily Sitka] Sentinel an “electronic medical record software vendor” he used for about 9 months in 2008 had…
Two potential class action lawsuits filed against Sutter Health (updated)
It was only a matter of time, right? Darrell Smith reports: Sutter Health is being sued for negligence and other allegations in the mid-October theft of a computer from Sutter Medical Foundation headquarters that held information on more than 4 million of its patients. The class-action suit, filed Monday on behalf of plaintiff Karen Pardieck…
University of Kentucky HealthCare notifying almost 900 patients that lost phone may have contained information on them
The University of Kentucky HealthCare has posted a public notice on its web site today: The University of Kentucky is notifying 878 people regarding a breach of protected health information. On September 25, 2011, a phone was lost. The employee had access to electronic mail that may have included information about health conditions with medical…
A breach notice reminds us to verify that encryption is properly set up
On November 14, Virtual Radiologic Professionals (“vRad”) notified the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office that a laptop stolen from an employee’s car on October 14 contained sensitive medical and financial data. It’s a sad tale of pretty good security protocols gone bad due to human error. According to Karen Scott, the Eden Prairie firm’s Privacy…
UK: Central Essex Community Services breached Data Protection Act after book with mothers' and babies' information goes missing
Central Essex Community Services was found in breach of the Data Protection Act after the loss of a birth book containing information about the general health of 249 mothers and their babies. According to a press release issued by the Information Commissioner’s Office today, the book – which should have been stored in a locked filing cabinet –…