J. Nicholas Hoover reports: The Department of Defense risks exposing personally identifiable information and other sensitive data because it isn’t consistently following proper procedures in preparing computer< equipment for disposal or reuse, the military's inspector general has found. In an evaluation of DoD internal controls and processes, the inspector general found that several military departments...
State Requiring Prompt Med To Appear At Hearing About Dumped Records
As a follow-up to a breach previously reported, Kerri Hartsfield reports: The State Department of Justice is requiring an attorney for Prompt Med to appear at a hearing after hundreds of medical records were found in a dumpster and sitting alongside a street. Last month, a 2 Wants to Know investigation revealed that more than…
Construction firm sues after $588,000 online theft
Jeremy Kirk reports: A construction company in Maine is suing its bank after about $588,000 disappeared from its accounts, alleging the bank failed to spot suspicious account activity before it was too late. Over a week-long period in May, fraudsters made six transfers from the online bank accounts of Patco Construction Company, a family-owned developer…
Lawyer Faces Felony Charge for Allegedly Bribing Hospital Workers
Joel Stashenko reports: A felony charge was filed Wednesday against an attorney who is accused of bribing hospital employees for confidential medical information that he allegedly used to solicit clients in a no-fault insurance scam. New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo said the charge against William R. Hamel, an attorney at Dinkes & Schwitzer…
Bronx man allegedly steals identity to obtain health insurance
A Bronx, N.Y., man could receive up to seven years in prison after he stole a friend’s identity to obtain health insurance for treatment after a fall from a fire escape. Rasheem Tolliver, 27, was arrested after admitting to using a former acquaintance’s identity to cover injuries sustained as he tried to get into his…
Are Med-Student Tweets Breaching Patient Privacy?
Alice Park reports: […] A new survey of medical-school deans finds that unprofessional conduct on blogs and social-networking sites is common among medical students. Although med students fully understand patient-confidentiality laws and are indoctrinated in the high ethical standards to which their white-coated profession is held, many of them still use Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Flickr…