The omnibus federal final rule that will cover changes to the HIPAA privacy, security, breach notification and enforcement rules will not include a mandate for encryption of protected health information, confirms Susan McAndrew, deputy director for health information privacy in the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights. […] McAndrew wasn’t as…
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Medical records vulnerable (updated)
Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar of Associated Press reports: The nation’s push to computerize medical records has failed to fully address longstanding security gaps that expose patients’ most sensitive information to hackers and snoops, government investigators warn. Two reports released today by the inspector general of the Health and Human Services Department find that the drive to connect…
Lawsuit over newborn blood tests explores privacy rights
Ian Mulgrew reports: A lawsuit against the Provincial Health Services Authority over the collection and storage of B.C. and Yukon newborns’ blood has received a green light to proceed. B.C. Supreme Court Justice Robert Sewell, however, says the suit launched last year by an anonymous couple and their kids over the until-then hidden DNA database…
NY's highest court rules HIPAA trumps Kendra's law
Alison Frankel of Reuters reports: U.S. privacy laws bar release of a mental health patient’s records as part of an effort to compel outpatient treatment unless the disclosure is authorized by the patient or a court, the New York Court of Appeals ruled on Tuesday. It was the first time a state’s highest court had…
Florida Bill Would Bar Doctors From Asking Patients About Guns
David Taintor writes: As NPR reports, a Florida bill would bar doctors — in particular pediatricians — from asking their patients if they own guns. Gov. Rick Scott (R) is expected to sign the bill this week, which would make Florida the first state with such a law.Scott’s office would not release a timeline on when…
Tucson shooter's prison records to be released
When are doctor-patient communications not privileged and confidential? Apparently when the government requests them as part of determining competence to stand trial. David Schwartz of Reuters reports: District Court Judge Larry Burns, in a ruling made public on Thursday, said there is no reason to prohibit the U.S. Bureau of Prisons from releasing to law…