It’s now been a full year since the new breach reporting requirements went into effect for HIPAA-covered entities. Although I’ve regularly updated this blog with new incidents revealed on HHS’s web site, it might be useful to look at some statistics for the first year’s worth of reports. During this period, 166 breaches each…
Should bureaucratic heads roll in the Canadian veteran's privacy breach?
More fallout from a breach I’ve been covering on this blog involving bureaucrats accessing a veteran’s psychiatric records. Laura Payton reports: Bureaucrats could lose their jobs for circulating a veteran’s confidential medical files, the veterans affairs minister said Thursday. Jean-Pierre Blackburn says he’s still deciding what to do with officials who accessed the personal files…
AU: iPads for Doctors
The Australian Privacy Foundation has written to the Victorian Department of Health over reports that 500 iPads are to be provided to graduate doctors and nurses. Noting the potential benefits of such technology, APF honed in on a few key privacy and security and issues. In a letter signed by Roger Clarke, the group asks…
Improper disposal of confidential client records earns lawyer (only?) a public reprimand
Here’s a follow-up on a breach involving paper records, but I don’t think I ever knew of this breach at the time it occurred, although it reminds me of a similar breach where a psychologist’s adult children did something similar. Leigh Jones reports: An Indiana adoption lawyer whose client files were scattered in the wind…
UK: Comet draws fire over data protection
A useful reminder to take a breath after a mistake lest you compound your problems: Electricals retailer Comet faces an investigation by the data protection watchdog after it accidentally sold a TV set on its website for 2p, and then revealed the email addresses of more than 500 people who took advantage of the bargain…
Ca: Veteran wants public inquiry into privacy breach
A war veteran who was the victim of a privacy breach at the hands of bureaucrats with Canada’s Veterans Affairs Department is calling for an apology and a full public inquiry. Privacy commissioner Jennifer Stoddart on Thursday released the results of an investigation which found that the department broke the law in its handling of…