Public health officials and privacy advocates are
becoming more alarmed; keeping records secure and safe is starting to become a real
challenge.
In an article from The Washington Post, two recent
incidents at Howard University Hospital in Washington, D.C. have shown how many
people can be affected by inadequate data security.
Earlier in May, federal prosecutors charged a hospital
employee with violating the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
(HIPAA). The employee used her position to gain access to patient’s health
information, including their names, Medicare numbers, and addresses. She then
sold the information outside of work.
Before that incident took place, the same hospital had to
contact more than 34,000 patients that their medical information had been
compromised.
A contractor working for the hospital had put information
on a personal laptop, which was later stolen out of the employee’s vehicle.
Information stolen included names, Social Security numbers, addresses and in
some cases, health and diagnosis related information.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services, more than 40 percent of medical data breaches involved portable media
devices, such as laptops, in the past two and a half years.
Many incidents that lead to patients having their
information compromised can be avoided.
Protection measures, such as encryption, password
security, and cloud storage could easily be used by health care officials to
make information more secure.
Snyder and Wenner,
P.C.
2200 E. Camelback
Road
Suite 213
Phoenix, AZ 85016
602-224-0005
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