The personal information of about 168,500 patients of the Los Angeles County departments of Health Services and Public Health was stolen during the theft of computer equipment from a firm that contracts with the county, authorities announced today. The theft took place Feb. 5 at the Torrance office of Sutherland Healthcare Solutions, Inc., which contracts…
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Faxes containing patient data breached from Roper Hospital (Updated)
On Feb. 28, a media report, noted on this blog, indicated that a man in Oregon kept receiving faxes with patient data. When he tracked the number down, it seemed that the faxes came from Community Memorial Hospital in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin. Contacted by TMJ4 News, the hospital told the reporter that United Healthcare was…
Twitter tested as monitor of HIV risk
Bernie Monegain reports: A new UCLA-led study suggests that real-time social media, such as Twitter could be used to track HIV and drug related behavior to detect potential outbreaks – and ultimately, as a tool for prevention efforts. The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Preventive Medicine, suggests it may be possible to predict sexual risk…
Palo Verde Hospital warns patients of HIPAA violations
The Palo Verde Valley Times staff reports: Palo Verde Hospital administrators released a statement Wednesday which concerns possible HIPAA violations. Hospital administrators released the statement, in addition to, mailing letters to patients. Palo Verde Healthcare District (PVHD) recently became aware of a breach of protected health information under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability (HIPAA)…
Crap hospital databases next goldmine for cyber-crooks, say Microsoft's botnet slayers
Iain Thomson reports: The low levels of security in healthcare IT systems, and the high value of its data, is going to make the sector the next big target for scammers, according to the Microsoft-backed team that takes down botnets. “Healthcare is really in a disadvantaged place in cyber-security,” said Patrick Peterson, CEO of security…
Oregon man reveals Wisconsin patient privacy breach (update2)
How many times have we seen cases where faxes with patient info are sent to the wrong number, and not once, but repeatedly – despite a recipient’s efforts to alert the sender and get them to correct their records? Sometimes going to the patients affected and the media will get faster results. In my own…