Courtney Humphries reports on something that sounds really exciting: As advances in genomics, molecular analysis, and data processing have propelled disease research forward, scientists and drug developers still face a formidable challenge: recruiting patients for their studies. Genetic Alliance, a nonprofit that advocates for people with rare genetic disorders, is launching a new site called Reg4All that…
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Bivens action claims IRS agents engaged in warrantless seizure of 60M medical records of 10M people during raid
Rebekah Kearn of Courthouse News reports: John Doe Company sued 15 John Doe IRS agents in Superior Court. “This is an action involving the corruption and abuse of power by several Internal Revenue Service (‘IRS’) agents (collectively referred to as ‘defendants’ herein) during a raid of John Doe Company, in the Southern District of California,…
Security agency tells Europe to find alternative to risky email
European governments and businesses should investigate alternative communication channels to e-mail in the longer term after a string of alarming attacks, the EU’s cyber security agency warned today (13 March) in a special alert. The European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) issued the so-called Flash Note in the wake of “recent major cyber-attacks”, calling…
DNA hack could make medical privacy impossible
Kevin Fogarty reports: It may now be possible for anyone, even if they follow rigorous privacy and anonymity practices, to be identified by DNA data from people they do not even know. A paper published in January in the journal Science describes a process by which it’s possible to identify by name the donors of…
Officials deny hospital source of media ‘leak’
It started with this report that recording artist Joel Mendoza was planning on suing Victor R. Potenciano Medical Center for releasing his personal information, including his address, to the media. Mendoza had reportedly been the victim of a violent robbery attack. Although police had identified two suspects in the attack, they had not been arrested…
Can Covered Entities Utilize Text Messaging and Text Paging Without Violating HIPAA?
Lynn Sessions and Cory Fox write: Text messaging allows healthcare providers to deliver simple, relevant, and customizable health information instantaneously to their patients, like reminders to obtain a vaccine, take a medication or come to an important follow-up appointment. Text paging, a form of text messaging frequently used by healthcare professionals, can help ensure patient…