The Columbus Telegram reports that the Adams County Historical Society is appealing a February court decision that let a former state psychiatric hospital keep sealed the identities of 957 people buried in its cemetery. This case is interesting because it pits HIPAA’s provisions that would protect information after death against freedom of information and public…
5,000 items missing from Indian Health
Enric Volante reports in the Arizona Daily Star: Mismanagement at the federal Indian Health Service has resulted in millions of dollars of equipment being lost or stolen across the nation, including in Arizona, congressional investigators reported. […] Gregory D. Kutz, managing director of forensic audits and special investigations for the GAO, the investigative arm of…
Hong Kong urges tougher controls on patients' data
Tougher controls to protect patients’ personal and medical data should be introduced at the city’s hospitals following a series of security blunders, the territory’s privacy watchdog said Tuesday. Roderick Woo, the privacy commissioner, made 37 recommendations to the Hospital Authority after inspecting the data security system at one of its hospitals. Full story – Monsters…
Privacy Advocates Worried, Wary About E-Rx Merger
George Lauer reports: It’s not going to change things overnight, but the merger of two of the biggest players in the electronic prescription market might accelerate the adoption of delivering health care digitally beyond the prescribing of drugs. Prescriptions will obviously be the first and most affected, but industry experts predict other portions of the…
S.C. Medicaid patients' records go online
Jill Coley reports: Medical records belonging to state Medicaid patients have gone electronic. In July, the South Carolina Health Information Exchange made 800,000 medical histories of disabled and poor residents available to physicians, clinics and hospitals. Privacy advocates urge caution. “Medical privacy for many people is one of the most important forms of privacy,” said…
Rapper DMX arrested again
In his fourth run-in with Maricopa County deputies within a year, rapper DMX faces charges of theft of services and identity theft for trying to avoid paying $7,500 in medical bills from Scottsdale’s Mayo Clinic in April, officials said. […] In April, the 37-year-old rapper went for treatment at Scottsdale’s Mayo Clinic. He stayed nine…