Caroline Chen reports: 23andMe Inc., the genetic-testing startup backed by Google Inc. (GOOG), is sharing DNA data on about 650,000 individuals with Pfizer Inc. (PFE), to help find new targets to treat disease and to design clinical trials. The collaboration with Pfizer is the broadest announced so far in 23andMe’s ambitious plan to become a repository for humanity’s…
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UK: British Afghanistan troops' medical records lost
Matthew Holehouse reports: The medical records of hundreds of British soldiers are feared to have been lost in Afghanistan, it can be revealed. Two unencrypted laptops used by Army medics in theatre carrying the records of up to 1,300 troops were discovered to be missing in a recent equipment audit. The audit discovered that nine…
Christie signs law requiring health insurance companies to encrypt personal information
Susan K. Livio reports: Health insurance companies will be required to protect client information by encrypting the data, under legislation Gov. Chris Christie signed into law today. The bill follows a series of incidents involving stolen laptops containing policyholder information protected only by user passwords. Read more on NJ.com.
Inland Empire Health Plan notifies Children’s Eyewear Sight customers of data theft (Update1)
Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) is notifying plan members of a breach at a local provider’s facility. On October 28, a desktop computer and other items were reportedly stolen from Children’s Eyewear Sight in Rancho Cucamonga, CA. A file on the computer included plan members’ name, date of birth, gender, address and contact phone number,…
Indiana Attorney General settles with former dentist accused of dumping patient files
There’s a follow-up to a breach previously noted in April 2013. From the Indiana Attorney General’s Office: Indianapolis – The state has reached a settlement with former Kokomo-area dentist, Dr. Joseph Beck, for mishandling medical records containing sensitive information of more than 5,600 patients. The Attorney General’s Office sued Beck for failing to protect personal information…
Hospital owners and doctors had no standing in its bank or patient records
John Wesley Hall writes: The operator of a small hospital corporation with at most 25 employees had no standing in the bank records of the corporation. Because they might have standing in their own offices doesn’t translate into standing over bank records. As to patient records, HIPAA confidentiality requirements don’t translate into standing to contest…