In March 2014, Joshua Hippler was indicted for criminal violations of HIPAA. He pleaded guilty on August 28, and on Tuesday, he was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison. According to information presented in court, from December 2012 through January 2013, Hippler was an employee of a covered entity under HIPAA, the Health Insurance…
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Ca: Personal medical records found strewn along street in Richmond Hill
Andrea Piunno reports: Confidential medical documents have been strewn along a busy street in Richmond Hill for as long as a week, but it’s not yet clear how the breach occurred. A CityNews viewer who lives along Major Mackenzie Drive East near Yonge Street says hundreds of documents have been scattered in the area, along the…
Ontario health privacy law doesn't preclude class actions for intrusion upon seclusion claims
David T. S. Fraser writes: The Ontario Court of Appeal in Hopkins v. Kay, 2015 ONCA 112 (CanLII) has just ruled that the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA) doesn’t preclude common law claims for intrusion upon seclusion. In the decision under appeal, the motion judge held that it was not plain and obvious that…
Law professors: HIPAA ‘not extraordinarily’ protective of personal info, prosecutions rarely occur
Amanda Robert reports: In recent weeks, it has been widely reported that Dr. Robert Taub will testify in the corruption case against New York State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. According to the Jan. 21 federal complaint, Taub referred his patients from the Columbia University Mesothelioma Center to the high-profile asbestos cancer law firm Weitz &…
Ca: Peterborough Regional Health Centre privacy lawsuit to go ahead
The Peterborough Examiner reports: The Peterborough Regional Health Centre has lost its battle to stop a class-action suit from going ahead. Now a group of local plaintiffs whose records were accessed improperly can move forward with their lawsuit against the hospital. The suit alleges damages from a privacy breach at the hospital. Lawyer Michael Crystal…
ACA Information Reporting Creates Data Privacy and Security Issues
Joseph J. Lazzarotti writes: During this year, businesses will be hearing a lot about the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA’s) information reporting requirements under Code Sections 6055 and 6056. Information gathering will be critical to successful reporting, and there is one aspect of that information gathering which employers might want to take action on sooner rather than later –…