As a follow-up and update to a complaint initially reported here, Dinah Wisenberg Brin of Dow Jones Newswires reports: Consumer advocates and a national pharmacists’ group have asked the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Health and Human Services to investigate possible violations of U.S. health-privacy rules by CVS Caremark Corp. (CVS), the combined…
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Tracking pharmacy records run amok
Mark Nestmann blogs: How many felonies have you committed today? If you’re like most Americans, you probably violate federal or state law several times each day, without even knowing it. Just ask Sally Harpold. A resident of Clinton, Indiana, Sally purchased some cold medicine for her husband back in March. A few days later, she…
OH: Employer's DNA test rule raises legal concerns
Judy Greenwald reports: The University of Akron is expected to soon rescind a controversial rule that lets the university demand DNA samples from job applicants as part of a criminal background check. Observers say the requirement—believed to be the first genetic testing rule imposed by an employer—violates the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act and the Americans…
Ca: Alberta’s Bill 62 raises privacy concerns
Archie McLean reports: Alberta’s privacy commissioner is raising concerns about a new bill that would allow paramedics to give police personal information about their patients. Bill 62, the Emergency Health Services Amendment Act, gives paramedics permission to tell police names, dates of birth and medical information about their patients, as well as general observations from…
DNA Testing Firm Goes Bankrupt; Who Gets the Data?
Kim Zetter reports: An Icelandic firm that offers private DNA testing to customers has filed for bankruptcy in the U.S., raising privacy concerns about the fate of customer DNA samples and records, according to the Times of London. DeCODE Genetics, a genetics research firm, began offering personalized DNA testing through its deCODEme website two years…
Health Industry Winning Round On Privacy Of Digital Health Records
Emma Schwartz of the Huffington Post Investigative Fund writes: The tug-of-war over a little-known federal privacy rule–which has drawn in Congress, regulators and an array of interest groups–highlights the behind-the-scenes activity touched off by the government’s effort to spend some $45 billion in economic stimulus funds to push medical data online. Federal regulators are working…