Sarah Dallof of KSL reports: Thousands of people are being cautioned to keep their eyes on their credit reports tonight. A laptop with names, Social Security numbers and personal health information was stolen from University Health Care in Salt Lake City. The laptop was reported missing Feb. 25. University Health Care began mailing out letters…
Hospital tech gets 2 years for theft from dead Grapevine police officer
Domingo Ramirez Jr. reports in the Star-Telegram: DALLAS — Dandy “Chris” Wiles stood over the body of a Grapevine man last May in the emergency room at Baylor Medical Center at Grapevine, high on the club drug ketamine as he worked as an emergency room technician. He was supposed to collect the belongings and jewelry…
NH: House kills medical privacy bill
Reported in the New Hampshire Business Review: The New Hampshire House narrowly defeated a bill that would have required additional privacy restrictions on electronic medical records, which hospitals have said were too costly. The bill would have extended the federal privacy rights known as HIPAA to business associates, such as software vendors, and restrict access…
CDC awards three contracts for NHIN development
Nancy Ferris writes in Government Health IT: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has awarded three contacts for health information exchanges to develop data-sharing operations, with an emphasis on delivering data to public health authorities. The contract awards, totaling $38 million, were made in conjunction with the program led by the Office of the…
IT Security and Record Management in Healthcare
Dr. Zachary Peterson, a Senior Security Analyst at Independent Security Evaluators, writes: With the introduction of computers to the health care system, paper medical records have given way to their electronic counterparts, allowing information to be easily accessed, shared and modified. Systems for managing electronic records are now commonplace in all major and health care…
Doctor Blogs Raise Concerns About Patient Privacy
Deirdre Kennedy writes on NPR: Medical blogs have drawn back the curtain on the inner workings of the health care profession. Online readers can learn about the latest medical gadgets, read physicians’ views on health care issues, even get a peek at the inner thoughts of surgeons. But despite their attraction, these blogs have raised…