In the past few days, I’ve read two articles that are of particular concern to me because they raise the specter of “physician as God” when it comes to online health records or information. The first article, by Thomas Goetz in the New York Times, discusses a web site called PatientsLikeMe.com where patients can share…
Abortion provider ordered to retrain employees on medical waste disposal
In a follow-up to a story reported previously, Kim Kozlowski of the Detroit News reports: The Lathrup Village abortion clinic that was under investigation this month for improper disposal of medical waste and documents has been asked to retrain its employees on handling of medical waste by next month, according to a letter mailed today…
Ethical treatment of whole genome research participants
Seen on Huliq.com: Recent technological developments have made it possible for scientists to sequence an entire human genome, but these advances may be a mixed blessing. While much has been made of the benefits of whole-genome sequencing, from improved disease diagnosis to rational drug design, the impacts on the privacy and autonomy of individual participants…
Ca: Patient files found in vacant Yorkton office space
Angela Hall writes in the Leader-Post: REGINA — Hundreds of patient files have been discovered in a vacant Yorkton office space, prompting an investigation by the Saskatchewan Information and Privacy Commissioner. An anonymous complaint tipped the commissioner’s office to the presence of five large boxes containing what appears to be physician records for as many…
Practicing Patients
Thomas Goetz writes in the NY Times: […] PatientsLikeMe started with a single case of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. In 1998, Stephen Heywood, a 29-year-old carpenter, learned that he had A.L.S., a neurodegenerative disorder commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Jamie, his older brother, quit his job to find a cure. An M.I.T.-trained mechanical engineer with…
UK: Patients kept in the dark as hundreds of records go astray
David Higgerson of the Liverpool Daily Post reports: THE records of hundreds of Merseyside patients have gone missing from the region’s hospitals and surgeries over the past two years. Many of the incidents – including one where the names, partial addresses and door access codes to sheltered accommodation were taken – have prompted changes in…