With upwards of 20 states slated to begin implementing the new Walgreens “Well Experience” pharmacy model, Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today called on the company to respond to questions about the potential impact on patient privacy, data security, and patient safety. The “Well Experience” model is a departure from traditional pharmaceutical activities, physically separating…
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AZ: Woman reports ID theft after hospital posts personal information
Philip Franchine reports that when a hospital employee uploaded a picture of her workstation to her Facebook page, she did not realize that a patient’s personal information – including her Social Security number – was visible on the screen of her computer. The photo wasn’t up for long, but the patient reports that she has…
Hospice of Chesapeake notifies patients after employee emailed work home and someone may have gained access
Sara Blumberg reports: In the days after learning the Hospice of the Chesapeake patients’ personal information might have been compromised, President Michael McHale said the nonprofit shifted to emergency mode. “We shut down our system right away,” he said. Officials from the Pasadena-based hospice feared an outside party had infiltrated its computer network. Instead, a…
Attorney General Kamala D. Harris Issues Guidelines to Health Care Industry on Medical Identity Theft
Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today released guidelines on preventing and remedying medical identity theft, including best practice recommendations for the health care industry and tips for consumers. The guidelines are part of a report, Medical Identity Theft: Recommendations for the Age of Electronic Medical Records, which frames the escalated migration to electronic medical records…
CO: Drive with students' medical info stolen from nurse's unattended car
CBS in Denver reports that a suitcase containing a thumb drive with approximately 100 students’ unencrypted medical information was stolen from a school nurse’s car on October 5. The car had been left in a parking lot. The drive reportedly contained confidential health information for students from Eagleton, Castro and Munroe Schools. That information included…
What part of the new HIPAA regulations didn't they understand?
So I went to see a surgeon yesterday for a consult on something. I had never been to his office before, and expected I’d have to fill out a bunch of forms. Not surprisingly, there was a line that asked me for my Social Security number. I ignored it. The form asked me my race…