Nancy L. Perkins of Orthpedics Today reports: Health care professionals are potentially at risk of federal sanctions if they had not implement a written program to prevent identity theft by August 1. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), health care providers who regularly bill patients for services after they are rendered are “creditors†within…
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Ca: Opposition wants tougher privacy legislation
From Times & Transcript: The Liberal government will introduce privacy legislation and prescription drug monitoring legislation in this sitting of the legislature, said Health Minister Mike Murphy. But the official Opposition says the Liberals are dragging their feet on the privacy issue. “A year ago next month, the government introduced a bill entitled Access to…
SC: Abortion waiting period: Bill hits women below the belt (opinion)
Cara Tuttle Bell of The Herald-Journal writes: With a clear disregard for the rights and health of women, the S.C. General Assembly is back in the business of legislating its view of morality with H-3245, a bill requiring a mandatory 24-hour delay if a woman receives an ultrasound before terminating a pregnancy. This delay is…
Do You Know Where Your Data Are?
Bruce Schneier had a pointed article in the Wall Street Journal this week: Do you know what your data did last night? Almost none of more than 27 million people who took the RealAge quiz realized that their personal health data was sold to drug companies, who in turned used that information for targeted e-mail…
Is It Ethical to 'Google' Patients?
The May 1 issue of Psychiatric News has an interesting question in the Ethics Corner: Is It Ethical to ‘Google’ Patients? Q. We have learned that our psychiatry residents routinely “Google” their patients. On one recent occasion, the resident discovered that an inpatient was on a most-wanted list in another state for arson despite having…
UK: Police to destroy DNA profiles of 800,000 innocent people
Jamie Doward reports: DNA profiles of almost a million innocent people are to be destroyed as part of a major overhaul of the police national database. They include people who have been arrested and never charged, and those taken to court but found not guilty. Civil rights groups gave a cautious welcome to the proposals…