Entries tagged with: Medical Privacy
15 result(s) displayed.
Presidential Commission Urges Privacy Protections for DNA Data
Noting the rapid advances in the use of genetic data, the report of the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues recommended "a consistent floor of privacy protections covering whole genome sequence data regardless of how they were obtained....
EPIC Calls for Genetic Privacy Protections
EPIC submitted comments to the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues, urging the advisory panel to protect genetic privacy in large-scale human genome sequence data. The Commission requested comments pertaining to the "privacy of individuals, research subjects, patients,...
Federal Agency Settles Health Privacy Case with Blue Cross for $1.5 Million
The Department of Health and Human Services announced a settlement with Blue Cross Blue Shield after the company’s inadequate security measures allowed 57 unencrypted hard drives containing private health information to be stolen from a facility in Tennessee. The agency...
Institute of Medicine: "To Improve Patient Safety, Health Information Technology Needs Better Oversight, Accountability"
According to a study conducted by the Institute of Medicine, software errors and defects in electronic health records pose threats to patient safety, and can even result in death. To combat the problem, the Institute recommends the establishment of an...
Supreme Court Strikes Down Prescription Privacy Law
In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court struck down Vermont's prescription privacy law. IMS Health, Inc. v. Sorrell held that the Vermont statute, which bars disclosure of prescription data for marketing purposes, violates data mining firms' free speech rights. Vermont...
Cignet Fined 4.3 Million for Privacy Violations
The Department of Health and Human Services has determined that Cignet Health violated the privacy rule of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. The agency fined Cignet 4.3 million for denying patients access to their medical records...
Supreme Court to Hear Medical Privacy Case
The Supreme Court granted review of Sorrell v. IMS Health Inc., after the Second Circuit Court of Appeal's decision to strike down Vermont's prescription confidentiality law. The law regulates data mining companies that sell or use doctors' prescribing records containing...
Vermont Urges Supreme Court to Overturn Second Circuit's Medical Privacy Decision
The State of Vermont has petitioned the Supreme Court to review a Court of Appeals decision striking down the state's prescription confidentiality law. The law regulates data mining companies that sell or use doctors' prescribing records containing personal information on...
Federal Appeals Court Overturns Vermont Medical Privacy Law
The Second Circuit Court of appeals has ruled that a Vermont privacy law violates the First Amendment. The law regulated data mining companies that sell or use doctors' prescribing records containing personal information on patients. EPIC, and several privacy technology...
Agency Reconsiders Medical Breach Notification Rule
The Department of Health and Human Services has withdrawn its previously issued interim medical privacy rule after facing substantial criticism from privacy advocates. The old rules required that health-care providers and insurers report privacy breaches to patients only if the...
Federal Appeals Court Upholds Maine Prescription Privacy Law
The First Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a Maine law that bans the sale of prescriber-identifiable prescription drug data for marketing purposes. Data mining companies had challenged the law, claiming that the privacy measure violated their free speech rights,...
EPIC Urges Appeals Court to Protect Prescription Data
EPIC filed a friend of the court brief in the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit today, urging the judges to uphold a Vermont law that regulates companies that sell or use prescriber-identifiable data for marketing. Several data-mining companies...
FTC Issues Final Breach Notification Rule for Electronic Health Information
The Federal Trade Commission issued a final rule requiring breach notification by vendors of medical records and related entities. In June, EPIC submitted comments recommending that all entities handling electronic health records be subject to the regulation and that the...
Supreme Court Lets Stand New Hampshire Prescription Privacy Law
The Supreme Court refused to hear a challange to the Prescription Confidentiality Act, which prohibits the sale of prescription information. The First Circuit had upheld the ban on the sale of such information. EPIC and 16 experts in privacy and...
Supreme Court Rejects DNA Access to Prove Innocence
In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court rejected the constitutional right of a convicted individual to access his DNA to prove innocence. Chief Justice Roberts held that the task of harnessing "DNA's power to prove innocence without unnecessarily overthrowing the...
