Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner, Dr. Ann Cavoukian, today released a new publication that includes specific practical examples to help clarify any confusion over when health information custodians can assume a patient’s implied consent to collect, use or disclose personal health information. The brochure, Circle of Care: Sharing Personal Health Information for Health-Care Purposes, was…
Category: Uncategorized
Courts roll back abortion counseling laws
Just a pointer:Â Amy Lynn Sorrel has a recap of recent court decisions in Oklahoma and South Dakota on abortion-related issues over on American Medical News.
Health IT group to offer security certification to vendors
William Jackson reports: The Health Information Trust Alliance (HITRUST) announced today the creation of a program to certify IT security products against its Common Security Framework for information. The CSF Ready program will be guided by a steering committee of major IT security companies and labs. It will develop criteria for independent evaluation of health…
Two will plead guilty to HIPAA violations
United States Attorney Joyce White Vance announced that Isaac Earl Smith, 38, and Annetra Poole-Moore, 37, have agreed to plead guilty to federal crimes involving health care fraud, disclosures prohibited by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and aggravated identify theft. Between about September 2008 and April 2009, Smith, of Pleasant Grove, and…
SSA testing Microsoft HealthVault
The Social Security Administration has entered into an agreement to test the use of the Microsoft HealthVault software for SSA’s disability determination process. SSA has been trying out several ways to collect electronically the health records of people applying for disability income. SSA currently requests about 15 million to 20 million medical records a year…
EDITORIAL: Invasion of medical privacy
Privacy rights are under threat in the House’s government health care plan. While plowing through the more than 1,000-page Democratic House bill, Declan McCullagh of CBS News uncovered provisions that would allow startling privacy intrusions. The innermost secrets of people’s personal lives would be made available to thousands of government bureaucrats. Section 431(a) requires the…