Nick Thompson reports: KOMU 8 News obtained a letter from a Boone Hospital patient Monday in which the privacy director admitted an employee affiliated with the hospital abused their access to a network containing patient information. Privacy director Kathleen Pitzer wrote several patients last week, saying she became aware of an information breach on Sept….
Is your doctor spying on your tweets? Social media raises medical privacy questions
Art Caplan poses an interesting ethical question: A friend recently brought to my attention a disturbing question from a psychiatrist working with a transplant team: Should she be checking the sobriety claims of liver transplant candidates by looking on their Twitter and other social media sites? That question merits discussion because it’s clear both doctors…
Medical Start-up Invited Millions Of Patients To Write Reviews They May Not Realize Are Public. Some Are Explicit. (update2)
Update: Practice Fusion responded to the Forbes story. See the Comments section below for a link to their statement. Kashmir Hill writes: Medical records start-up Practice Fusion has attracted a whopping $134 million in venture capital thanks to its appealing business model: it offers 100,000 (and counting) medical types free, web-based patient management services. The doctors get…
Seton Healthcare Family notifies 5,500 patients of breach involving stolen laptop (CORRECTED)
It’s been a while since I’ve reported on a stolen laptop breach involving Seton Healthcare Family in Texas, but it appears they’ve had another one. Here is the notice posted on their web site today: Seton Healthcare Family is committed to maintaining the privacy and confidentiality of our patients’ information. Regrettably, this notice concerns an…
UK privacy watchdog fines Ministry of Justice for email leaks of prisoner details
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has served the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) with a monetary penalty of £140,000 after a serious data breach led to the details of all of the prisoners serving at HMP Cardiff being emailed to three of the inmates’ families. The breach was only discovered when one of the recipients contacted…
Senator Markey Queries Walgreens About How New Pharmacy Model Impacts Patient Privacy, Drug Security
With upwards of 20 states slated to begin implementing the new Walgreens “Well Experience” pharmacy model, Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today called on the company to respond to questions about the potential impact on patient privacy, data security, and patient safety. The “Well Experience” model is a departure from traditional pharmaceutical activities, physically separating…