Two months after Amazon was rumored to be thinking of getting into the pharmacy business by offering customers the option of ordering their prescription drugs through the e-commerce giant’s supplier channel, the company is taking its desire to be doctor a step further, reported developing a team focused on virtual medicine. [More]
medical records
Amazon Reportedly Has A Secret Team Working On Virtual Doctor Visits, Other Medical Services
By 7.27.17
Google Wiping Private Medical Records From Search Results
By 6.23.17
If the thought of a stranger accessing your medical history online gives you the creeps, you’re not alone: In an effort to tamp down on the spread of such private information, Google has started wiping private medical records from its search results. [More]
Rape Victim Sues Uber After Learning Company Exec Obtained, Shared Her Medical Records
By 6.15.17
The 2014 rape of an Uber passenger by her driver was in the news again recently when it was reported that an Uber executive had not only obtained the woman’s medical records in an attempt to discredit her, but shared them with others at the company. Now the passenger is suing the ride-hailing service for invading her privacy. [More]
From Obtaining Rape Victim’s Medical Documents To Misused Lactation Rooms: 4 Reasons Uber Looks Awful This Week
By 6.8.17
The first half of 2017 hasn’t exactly been kind to Uber and its CEO Travis Kalanick, from a video showing the executive arguing with a driver, the #deleteuber social media campaign tied to a proposed government travel ban, and a top-secret algorithm to avoid the law. Uber’s awful year kicked into overdrive this week amid multiple reports of bad behavior and renewed calls for Kalanick’s ouster. [More]
Illinois AG Sues Company For Dumping Medical Files Containing Patients’ Personal Info In The Trash
By 5.6.15
When you get medical treatment, the information that goes into your file is extensive and can contain a whole lot of personal information like your name, address, Social Security Number as well as your medical history. That private stuff should be kept from the prying eyes of others, which is exactly the opposite of what Illinois prosecutors say one company did when allegedly dumping medical files in the trash. [More]
Lawsuit Claims Medical Center Employees Posted Patient’s STD Diagnosis To Facebook
By 6.5.14
Sharing a patient’s medical record with anyone other than the patient is a big, fat no-no. Not only can companies found to be leaking the super-sensitive information be fined millions of dollars, but it opens them up to a range of lawsuits. And one Ohio medical center has found itself in that exact situation. [More]
California Company Settles FTC Charges Of Exposing Consumers’ Medical Transcripts Online
By 1.31.14
Personal information doesn’t get much more personal than your medical history. Ensuring your medical records are secure remains a top priorty for the Federal Trade Commission as they settled their 50th data security case on Friday. [More]
Bad News: Your Medical Records Are Probably For Sale
By 8.12.13
Electronic medical records are kind of cool: they help your doctors beam your prescription records back and forth from pharmacies and are supposed to save everyone money and time. What you may not realize, though, is that digital records are easy to share, and what’s easy to share is easy to sell. Somewhere, your most private medical data is probably for sale. [More]
Humana Is Being A Little Dramatic About Alex's Health
By 2.24.10
Alex is 24 years old and was laid off last year. He’s trying to sign up for a high-deductible health insurance plan from Humana One, but they’ve rejected him because he’s got a mess of health issues: “At my last checkup I mentioned occasional knee pain, occasional indigestion, and the fact that I experienced palpitations extremely rarely.” Or as Human describes it, “a medical history of bursitis, tendonitis, osteoarthritis, palpitations and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).” [More]
Doctors Across Tennessee Keep Faxing Patient Records To A Solar Panel Company
By 9.28.09
For three years now, reports The Tennessean, the owner of a solar panel company in Indiana says “confidential medical faxes” have been sent to him by doctors throughout Tennessee. His fax number is apparently very similar to the one for the Tennessee Department of Human Services, but although he’s contacted the errant doctors’ offices, as well as reported it to the DHS and to the state’s governor’s office, they keep coming.
Get Your Data Out Of Google
By 9.24.09
If you’re like the average Google user, you’ve now got a lot of personal data—emails, addresses, calendars, documents, photos and videos, maybe even health records—in their system. This is fine with them, because the Google Hive Mind needs all of this data to eventually become self aware and enslave us. However, if you ever want to get that information out of Google, the company has created something they call the Data Liberation Front to make it easier for you.
Privacy: 15 Hospital Workers Fired For Improperly Accessing Octomom's Records
By 3.31.09
A spokesperson for Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Bellflower, California says that 15 employees were fired and another 8 disciplined for improperly accessing the medical records of Nadya Suleman, A.K.A. Octomom.
Another Day, Another Loss of Hundreds of Thousands of Personal Records
By 1.27.06
This time, they’re medical records. From Computerworld:
The tapes and disks were taken home by the employee as part of a backup protocol that sent them off-site to protect them against loss from fires or other disasters. That practice, which was only used by the home health care division of the hospital system, has since been stopped, said health system spokesman Gary Walker.
Really, taking the tapes home wasn’t that bad of an idea, although he probably should have dropped them off at a cave or something. The real issue is the inevitability that your information will (has!) already travelled from one of the hundreds of databases that already holds it into the hands of someone who can abuse it.
