Four Boston-area hospitals are investigating a breach of patient confidentiality by an external, independent billing agency (e.g. business associate), which led to thousands of unshredded patient records being exposed in a landfill. The hospitals have released statements, noting that an external billing agency that works with their pathology groups, “improperly disposed of paper records containing […]
Read MoreThe Office for Civil Rights this week confirmed that it is investigating Walgreens in relation to a four-year-old story involving the improper disposal of personal health information at pharmacy chains, including CVS and Rite Aid. HealthLeaders Media reports that Walgreens was not mentioned in the settlement agreements reached recently with the other two chains; however, […]
Read MoreAccording to the posting, a local TV Station has reported on two similar, yet unrelated, cases of casually discarded medical records this year. This time medical forms and other medical documents that were discovered strewn across a public parking lot. Ironically, the medical practice in question served two of the members of the news team […]
Read MoreAccording to a news release posted by Health and Human Services on July 27th, Rite Aid, the Pennsylvania-based national drug store chain will pay a $1 million dollar fine to settle potential violations of HIPAA. It also signed a “consent order” to settle other charges in connection with the charges brought by the FTC. The […]
Read MoreRecently two separate incidents in the Barstow/Chino Hills area of Southern California highlighted a careless attitude toward medical records shared by too many businesses. In one incident, records from a dental office were placed outside of an office in Barstow. In another incident records from a husband and wife medical team were placed in the […]
Read MoreA doctor in Charlotte, North Carolina, has begun the process of notifying over 900 patients that their personal information may have been put at risk. Dr. Ervin Batchelor of Charlotte asked his two adult sons to dispose of medical records belonging to his office. His sons promptly took them to a local recycling center without […]
Read MoreLocal doctor David Brown improperly discarded patient records into a dumpster outside of his officer, leaving the records containing sensitive data in plain sight. When contacted by KMOV, Dr. Brown’s Attorney indicated that Brown knew he had a mistake, and was aware of the potential consequences. In a statement Dr. Brown pledged to adhere to […]
Read MoreIndianans gained some protection from identity thieves when the Indiana Attorney General’s office received the authority to store abandoned medical records. “We noticed that when doctors offices and clinics closed there were still these huge resources, banker boxes and file cabinets full of medical records with very sensitive information and before there was no statute […]
Read MoreA recent article on the Modern Medicine website by David Goldberg, M.D., J.D. a doctor, researcher and lawyer, reminds doctors that they are a liable for HIPAA violations. The article describes the genesis of the responsibility to protect the Protected Health Information, doctors’ ultimate responsibility, how employees can compromise PHI when untrained and the penalties. […]
Read MoreLast fall NAID covered a story on Prompt Med, a Greensboro, North Carolina urgent care center guilty of improperly disposing of hundreds of patient files. The files, found in a dumpster, held the data of 757 patients and contained social security numbers, insurance account numbers, and personal health information. In the latest development the North […]
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