Tristan Kirk reports: A consultant at a private Enfield hospital is facing disciplinary proceedings after patient records were allegedly thrown away by cleaners. Physiotherapist Shaun Murphy is accusing of storing three boxes of patient records under his desk in February and March 2009 while working for The King’s Oak and Cavell Hospitals. Mr Murphy discovered…
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Israeli parents ask court to allow use of dead son's sperm
A case in Israel is raising significant ethical and legal issues. Tomer Zarchin reports on Haaretz.com: Parents who contributed the organs of their dead son are now demanding to use his sperm to bring a child to the world. “If we were entitled to donate the organs of our son why are we not entitled…
UK: NHS research system could breach patient confidentiality
The same issues raised in the U.S. about meaningful use, anonymization and the risk of identification are being raised in the UK, it seems. Kathleen Hall reports: Medical experts have hit out against an NHS computer system which gives researchers access to patient information without their consent. The Secondary Uses Service (SUS) system gives commercial and…
'Gehrig bill' would free Yankee star's medical data for ALS-concussion probe
I’ve blogged a number of times about the privacy rights of the dead and efforts to limit such rights, including on the federal level. Here’s another news story about one very specific bill being proposed in Minnesota: David Brauer reports: State Rep. Phyllis Kahn makes no bones about it: She wants the Mayo Clinic to…
Forced IUD May Establish Grounds for U.S. Asylum
Jonathan Perlow reports: A Chinese national may find asylum in the United States after the 2nd Circuit found she may have been persecuted in her home country for removing an intrauterine device mandated by the government for population control. The Manhattan-based federal appeals panel remanded the case back to the Board of Immigration Appeals so…
Questions about HIPAA? CDT wants to know.
From the Center for Democracy and Technology: As “Health 2.0” tools – such as healthcare apps on smartphones – become more common, it’s increasingly important for both developers and patients using these tools to learn how HIPAA protects patient medical data. Yet it is not entirely clear how HIPAA intersects with many emerging services that…