The embarrassing leak of a quarter-million State Department documents by WikiLeaks has recharged the debate over electronic medical records, raising concern that the government may not be capable of safeguarding Americans’ most intimate health care secrets when their records go digital. Doctors and privacy advocates alike are pointing to the havoc wreaked by WikiLeaks founder…
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WV: Agency seeks input on health information security, privacy
Taylor Kuykendall reports: The West Virginia agency charged with creating a digital exchange of health information is seeking public comment on new security and privacy policies before entering its 2011 pilot of the program.The West Virginia Health Information Network is the result of a public and private partnership created in 2006 to enable medical professionals…
AU: Leak of draft e-health document raises privacy concerns
Karen Dearne reports: Patients will have limited control of their medical information, as a leaked document shows consumer access will be confined to a portal. While Health Minister Nicola Roxon said consumers would “truly control” their personal electronic health records at her e-health forum last week, attendees did not see a draft concept of operations,…
Concerns raised over federal workers' health care database
Kaiser Health News reports: An Office of Personnel Management plan to launch a comprehensive database of federal workers’ health care records has raised the ire of some privacy advocates, employee unions and consumer groups. OPM is organizing a research database of insurance claims filed by the eight million workers and dependents enrolled in the Federal…
Workers’ health information off-limits, except when it’s not
Diane Stafford writes: Do you have to take a pre-offer or post-offer medical exam or a fitness-for-duty test? Are you asking for family leave to care for your mother because she’s dying of breast cancer? Did you write on your Facebook page about your family history of heart attacks? Are there questions about your family’s…
California Department of Public Health Continues to Fine Hospitals and Nursing Homes for Data Breaches
Joseph Lazzarotti and Jason Gavejian discuss the recent fines by CDPH and the warning they convey: California hospitals and nursing homes take note – the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) takes data breaches seriously. Since June of this year, CDPH has imposed nearly $1.5 million in fines affecting 12 California health facilities. […] As…