I’ve blogged a number of times about a Florida law that prohibits doctors from asking patients about guns in the home absent a specific concern. I’m already on record that I think this is an unconstitutional infringement on the First Amendment rights of doctors and that states should not be able to sidestep our ability…
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Medical information requests of employees can be tricky
Banu Ramachandran writes: Imagine receiving a job application from an individual who appears highly qualified for the position you seek to fill. You eagerly invite the person to interview, but you are slightly surprised when he arrives because he uses a wheelchair and cannot travel up the stairs at the front door to the office….
University of Miami reaches settlement in patient data breach lawsuit
A federal court in Florida has been asked to approve a proposed settlement involving the University of Miami Health System. The proposed settlement would resolve a lawsuit stemming from their disclosure (pdf) earlier this year that thousands of patients’ billing vouchers stored with an off-site storage vendor were missing. At the time of the breach notification, UM revealed…
UK: Police want right to see medical records without consent
Vickram Dodd reports: Sir Peter Fahy says privacy concerns which either deny officers access to information or slow the process down cost police money and time. Police want new and expanded rights to access medical records and other confidential data without an individual’s consent, a senior police chief has told the Guardian. Sir Peter Fahy,…
Baby Pictures at the Doctor’s? Cute, Sure, but Illegal
Anemona Hartocollis reports: Pictures of smiling babies crowd a bulletin board in a doctor’s office in Midtown Manhattan, in a collage familiar to anyone who has given birth. But the women coming in to have babies of their own cannot see them. They have been moved to a private part of the office, replaced in…
Schumer asks FTC to probe use of fitness data
AP reports: U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer is asking the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the use of personal fitness data gathered from bracelets and cell phone applications by the companies that sell them, saying it can be sold to advertisers or others without users’ knowledge or consent. The New York Democrat says there are no…