A Texas City man has been sentenced to 33 months in prison for stealing the identity of a Vietnam War veteran and using that identity to receive health care benefits, acting United States Attorney Tim Johnson announced today. Gerry Lynn McAfee, 52, pleaded guilty to the federal charges Feb. 24, 2009. McAfee received thousands of…
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FL: Hospital employee prosecuted under HIPAA
In a rare criminal prosecution under HIPAA, Jacquettia L. Brown and Tear Renee Barbary, both residents of Miami-Dade County have been indicted on offenses relating to the theft of patient profile records from Palmetto General Hospital to further a fraud scheme. Brown was an employee of the hospital. More details on the indictment can be…
TN: State Wants Medical Records Database
Cara Kumari reports: Could an individual’s medical records hold the answers to some of the state’s serious health problems? “The purpose here is to build as broad a set of population health data as possible so that we can really improve quality of care and efficiency of care in Tennessee,” said Finance Commissioner Dave Goetz….
Aetna Contacts 65,000 After Web Site Data Breach
Jeremy Kirk reports: Insurance company Aetna has contacted 65,000 current and former employees whose Social Security numbers (SSNs) may have been compromised in a Web site data breach. The job application Web site also held names, phone numbers, e-mail and mailing addresses for up to 450,000 applicants, Aetna spokeswoman Cynthia Michener said. SSNs for those…
Fee webinar series in June
The Health Information Security and Privacy Collaboration (HISPC) June 2009 Seminar Series Cost: Free Background: Between March 2008 and April 2009, a group of 42 states and territories participated in seven collaborative projects that sought to produce common, replicable solutions to various privacy and security challenges related to electronic health information exchange. Schedule and Registration:…
WA: Privacy fight centers on Social Security number
Leah Beth Ward of the Yakima Herald-Republic reports: With identity theft on the upswing, Aram Langhans thought he was simply being prudent when he asked the Yakima Heart Center to remove his Social Security number from its files. “They had my insurance card and my driver’s license. What else did they need?” said Langhans, a…