Michelle Archard reports: Patients’ personal data has been lost after a nurse was carjacked, a new report has revealed. The theft has just come to light in a report to the board of NHS South East Essex. It is reported as a “serious untoward incident” where there had been loss of some “personal identifiable data”….
UK: BMA calls for exemption on data sharing
The BMA is calling for confidential health information to be exempt from new government legislation which will allow sharing of personal data across Whitehall departments. The controversial powers are included in the Coroners and Justice Bill which had its second reading in the House of Commons last week. The BMA claimed the data sharing powers…
Troubled veteran's call leads to firing
Kristina Goetz reports: […] In the early morning hours of April 2, 2007, Jared Rhine had a choice: Pick up a gun and end it all, or pick up a phone. He chose the phone. Rhine dialed the number for the Memphis Veterans Medical Center and demanded to speak to clinical psychologist Sidney Ornduff, who…
CO: Uncovering the Identity trade business
Deborah Sherman reports: When Brandon Michael rolled up a storage-unit door in Denver on New Year’s Day to sort through the contents he had just purchased at an auction, the young man expected to find the usual items he could later sell on Craigslist or eBay: tools, laptops and furniture. Instead, Michael discovered boxes, filing…
Washington Legislature: Bill to keep prescription data from drug firms
Kathie Durbin reports: If you think your prescription drug history is a confidential medical record, think again. Thanks to a loophole in federal privacy laws, it’s legal for pharmacists to share that history with drug company marketers, who can use the information to promote specific drugs directly to consumers. States can plug that loophole by…
IE: Financial details of 1,200 Airtricity customers posted on firm’s website
John Burke reports: The personal and financial details of almost 1,200 customers of green energy firm Airtricity were posted on the company’s website for six weeks, The Sunday Business Post has learned. The Data Protection Commissioner, Billy Hawkes, has launched an investigation into the incident, which occurred in late November but was only accidentally spotted…