Health and Human Services Dec. 10, 2009 Health and Human Services has asked the General Services Administration (GSA) to contract with approved specialists to develop “training courses and related materials to educate staff from the offices of state attorneys general and others about the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy and […]
Read MoreThe Vermont Attorney General’s office announced that a Connecticut based insurer, Health Net and Health Net of the Northeast, would pay $55,000 to settle a data breach affecting 525 Vermont residents, although the breach affected 1.5 million total customers. “Consumers expect – and the law requires – that personal information be treated with the utmost […]
Read More9new.com – Denver, CO Dec. 29, 2010 The Apothecary of Colorado, a medical marijuana dispensary located in Denver, is under scrutiny after carelessly discarding patient records in a dumpster. Dispensaries in Colorado are regulated by the state Department of Revenue, and there are no requirements in place for the care and handling of patient records, […]
Read MoreWSB Atlanta Nov. 10, 2010 There has seen some fairly intense coverage of a story out of Georgia related to confidential medical files found in an Alpharetta Doctor’s dumpster. According to the reports that State Health Care Fraud Control department is investigating, although we could find no reference to the state’s Attorney General getting involved, […]
Read MoreSeveral folders containing sensitive health information were found at a public recycling bin in Omaha, Nebraska. The folders contained addresses, social security numbers, and doctor recommendations. When notified of what the bin contained, the owners of the recycling facility immediately removed it from a publicly accessible area. Source: Action 3 News – Omaha, Nebraska For […]
Read MoreFour 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 […]
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