Richard Pizzi of Healthcare IT News writes: Researchers have created a set of computer programs that use electronic medical records to detect contagious illnesses and automatically report them to public health departments. The new system, called Electronic Medical Record Support for Public Health, or ESP, was described in the April 11 issue of Morbidity and…
California Department of Public Health Cites Three UCLA Facilities for Privacy Breaches
The California Department of Public Health investigated UCLA for recently revealed patient privacy breaches, and cited three UCLA facilities for deficiencies. You can read the CDPH’s reports on UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center and Orthopaedic Hospital and Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital at UCLA. All are in .pdf format. In response, UCLA Chancellor Gene…
Anne Arundel woman, 33, admits identity theft, fraud
Tyeesha Dixon reports on a case involving medical ID theft: An Anne Arundel County woman pleaded guilty in federal court yesterday to fraud and identity theft after using a Garrett County woman’s credit cards and identification to buy jewelry and prescription painkillers in 11 states, according to the office of the U.S. Attorney for Maryland….
Man Charged in ID Theft at NY Hospital
Verena Dobnick of the Associated Press reports: A man who worked in the admissions department at a prestigious Manhattan hospital has been charged with stealing and selling information on nearly 50,000 patients. Dwight McPherson, 38, a former worker at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, was arrested Friday night, shortly after the hospital announced the…
Groups seek to shield minors' Web data
Joseph Menn and Alana Semuels write in the Los Angeles Times: A coalition of medical groups and child advocates called Friday for guidelines that would prevent Internet companies from tracking the behavior of minors online, contending that many adolescents are divulging more than they realize and aren’t digesting complex privacy policies. The American Academy of…
UniCare discovers more members affected by web exposure breach than previously identified
On April 2, Sean Doolan of Hinman Straub, lawyers for UniCare, notified the New Hampshire Department of Justice that: Approximately one year ago, it was discovered that a computer server that contained protected health information (PHI) was not properly secured by a third party vendor for a period of time, which caused the PHI…