Patients who had lab work done during the past three-and-a-half years, at East Central Regional Hospital, may want to double check their credit information. The GBI is investigating since a former technician at the hospital took home a number of records from the Augusta and Gracewood locations. Hospital officials don’t think any Social Security numbers…
Courts roll back abortion counseling laws
Just a pointer:Â Amy Lynn Sorrel has a recap of recent court decisions in Oklahoma and South Dakota on abortion-related issues over on American Medical News.
2 extradited to NY on global ID theft charges
The Associated Press reports that two men from the Czech Republic have been extradited to New York City on charges of running an international multi-million dollar Internet-based credit card theft ring. Prosecutors allege that “the ring is responsible for at least $4 million in fraud, and trafficked in 95,000 stolen credit card numbers between November…
Two to plead guilty to fraud, HIPAA violations
United States Attorney Joyce White Vance announced that Isaac Earl Smith, 38, and Annetra Poole-Moore, 37, have agreed to plead guilty to federal crimes involving health care fraud, disclosures prohibited by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and aggravated identify theft. Between about September 2008 and April 2009, Smith, of Pleasant Grove, and…
Health IT group to offer security certification to vendors
William Jackson reports: The Health Information Trust Alliance (HITRUST) announced today the creation of a program to certify IT security products against its Common Security Framework for information. The CSF Ready program will be guided by a steering committee of major IT security companies and labs. It will develop criteria for independent evaluation of health…
German Data Protection Authority Issues € 36,000 Fine Against Lidl for Collection of Employee Health Data
On August 19, 2009, the state DPA in North Rhine-Westphalia fined a subsidiary of the discount supermarket chain Lidl € 36,000 (approximately $51,000) for illegally keeping records of employee health data. The case was triggered by a report in the German news magazine Der Spiegel. A Bochum resident found papers and forms containing Lidl employees’…