Police are looking for a man who stole a laptop from a Welland doctor’s office that contains sensitive health data. On Feb. 24, members of the Niagara Regional Police responded to a medical office in Welland for a theft complaint. Investigation revealed that an unknown suspect entered a medical office and stole a silver and…
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EU Healthcare Coalition steps up pressure on data protection
Peter Mansell reports: The multi-stakeholder Healthcare Coalition on Data Protection has stepped up pressure on lawmakers in the EU to preserve, re-instate or clarify research-friendly provisions in the European Commission’s proposal for a General Data Protection Regulation. Among the changes sought by the Coalition, which was set up to “facilitate health-data processing for health purposes,…
Louisiana lawmakers want to keep a state database of people who have medication-induced abortions
Katie McDonough reports: A Louisiana state lawmaker has filed a measure to keep a state database of people who have had medication abortions, as well as restrict access to surgical abortion through Texas-style regulations aimed to shutter clinics and intimidate physicians. Democratic state Rep. Katrina Jackson’s bill, in addition to keeping a state database of…
GA: Laptop with patient information stolen from Emory clinic
Alexis Stevens reports: A laptop stolen from a vehicle at an Emory Healthcare clinic contained limited information for 826 patients, the university said Monday. On Feb. 7, a car belonging to an employee of the Emory Dialysis Clinic was one of several broken into, according to Vince Dollard, spokesman for the university’s health services. An…
Vermont officials say personal data safe after breach involving Vermont Health Connect
Peter Hirschfield reports: State officials say a newly disclosed security breach involving Vermont Health Connect has not jeopardized the personal data of consumers. But a critic of the new health insurance website isn’t convinced the incident was so benign. And this latest episode promises to spark yet another political dustup over the massive reform initiative….
Audit finds high-risk security vulnerabilities in the automated systems used to process Medicaid claims
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of HHS recently released an audit that found pervasive high-risk security vulnerabilities at 10 state Medicaid agencies. The report is written so as not to provide a road map for attackers who might want to exploit the vulnerabilities but to raise awareness of concerns, i.e., the states are…