Canadian researchers say they’ve determined information contained in hospital prescription records can be used to easily identify patients. The study, led by Dr. Khaled El Emam of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, found information on drug prescriptions is a highly sought after commodity by pharmaceutical companies, which use the information in their marketing and…
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When 2+2 Equals a Privacy Question
Natasha Singer writes: […] Big players like the Cerner Corporation, which maintains electronic health systems for 8,000 clients, including large hospitals and retail clinics, and smaller players like Practice Fusion, which offers its Web-based health record systems free to health care providers, say they make use of patient data collected from their clients. A spokeswoman…
NC: State delves into employee info
Ed Crump reports: Many state employees were already hot under the collar because their health benefits will be limited for those who smoke or are overweight. Now, they’re learning North Carolina did an end run around federal privacy rules to get that information. Some are now questioning if the exemption for federal HIPAA rules means…
Malawi: Police force HIV tests for sex workers
Charles Mpaka reports: It was, Malawian police say, a routine sweep for criminals at one of the country’s busiest border posts. They were looking for criminals. But when the police arrested 14 prostitutes as part of their search, and then allegedly forcefully tested them for HIV and charged them for “deliberately trading in sex while…
New Oklahoma law mandates publication of abortion info
A new Oklahoma law set to take effect on November 1, will require doctors to report extensive information about each abortion performed in the state, which will then be published on government websites. The questionairre will ultimately be posted on the Oklahoma State Department of Health website and includes information as detailed as a woman’s…
AHIMA issues health information Bill of Rights
The American Health Information Management Association has issue a Health Information Bill of Rights (pdf). The Preamble states: […] AHIMA has established these seven measures for the sole purpose of protecting healthcare consumers. Ours is a comprehensive set of liberties to safeguard every individual’s right to lawful access of their personal health information; to prevent…