Patricia Kime reports: After veteran Aaron Alexis shot and killed a dozen people at the Washington Navy Yard last September, the Air Force noted a spike in the number of personnel dipping into his electronic medical file. The snooping — illegal under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA — was so pervasive…
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UK: Sensitive social services records lost after being left on family’s doorstep
An investigation by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has ruled that a council in Berkshire breached the Data Protection Act after sensitive social services records relating to the care of a young child were lost. The information had been requested by a family member who made a subject access request for their information to Wokingham…
UK: Cosmetic surgery files hacked: Details of 500,000 people stolen and used in blackmail attempt
Tania Steere reports: One of Britain’s best-known and biggest providers of private cosmetic surgery has been targeted by computer hackers, it was revealed last night. Confidential personal details of nearly 500,000 people who made an enquiry about surgery via Harley Medical Group’s website were stolen in an apparent bid to blackmail the company. Patients interested…
Curious Cop Downloaded Hundreds of Private Prescription Records Because He Could
Nathan Freed Wessler of the ACLU writes: Today, the ACLU and ACLU of Utah filed an amicus brief in support of a Utah paramedic whose Fourth Amendment rights were violated when police swept up his confidential prescription records in a dragnet search. Law enforcement’s disregard for basic legal protections in the case is shocking. The United Fire…
New picture-sharing app for doctors, medical students raises privacy concerns
Carl Smith reports on concerns about a new app called Figure 1: A new picture-sharing phone and tablet application for doctors and medical students is raising concerns about patient privacy. Figure 1 allows the sharing of medical and clinical pictures between health practitioners to assist colleagues with patient diagnoses and to aid studying students. It…
University Urology in Knoxville notifies patients because employee gave their contact info to competitor (updated)
University Urology, P.C. in Knoxville, Tennessee posted this notice on their website yesterday: Knoxville, Tennessee – April 11, 2014. University Urology, P.C. has announced today that patient information containing patient names and addresses was provided to an outside provider not associated with University Urology, P.C. Further investigation revealed that in 2013 and early 2014, an administrative employee of…