Patient Privacy News

$4.2M Settlement Proposed in Kalispell Regional Breach Lawsuit

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A proposed $4.2 million settlement has been reached in the lawsuit filed against Kalispell Regional Healthcare (KRH) and the 130,000 patients affected by a monthslong data breach reported by...

Disclosed OpenClinic Flaws Pose Remote Code Execution, PHI Risk

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Researchers from Bishop Fox Labs discovered four vulnerabilities in the OpenClinic application, an open-source health records management software, which could allow an attacker to read patient...

COVID-19 Sites Plagued with Third-Party Tracking, Posing Privacy Risk

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Nearly all webpages tied to the COVID-19 pandemic and designed to help individuals find information about the coronavirus contain code that transfers data to third parties, which can pose serious...

Patients Vastly Unaware of Insurers’ Access to Online Health Data

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Just one in 10 American patients believe health insurance companies have access to their personal spending and streaming habits, although reports have shown insurers routinely search private and public...

CDT, eHI Unveil Draft Consumer Health Data Privacy Framework

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The Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) and eHealth Initiative and Foundation (eHI) released its draft consumer health data privacy framework designed to define data in need...

COVID-19 Home Monitoring Tools Pose Patient Privacy, Safety Risks

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The COVID-19 pandemic spurred the rapid adoption of remote patient monitoring tools to support patient care in light of social distancing needs. But the accelerated development...

House Votes to Lift HHS Funding Ban on National Patient Identifier

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In its Fiscal Year 2021 minibus package passed this week, the House of Representatives once again voted to remove a provision that effectively bans providing federal funds to the...

RWJF, Manatt Share Consumer Health Data Privacy Framework

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The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Manatt Health recently released a consumer Health Data Privacy Framework designed to address some of the gaps in existing health data privacy...

Sens. Propose Bill to Regulate Privacy of COVID-19 Contact Tracing Apps

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Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Washington, and Bill Cassidy, R-Louisiana, recently introduced privacy legislation designed to protect the data collected, used, and maintained by COVID-19 contact tracing apps...

COVID-19 Contact Tracing Apps Spotlight Privacy, Security Rights

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Contact tracing app initiatives have emerged in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, as a modern enhancement to traditional methods for tracking the spread of the virus, finding new infections, and...

Congressional Bills Target COVID-19 Contract Tracing App Privacy

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A group of Congressional Democrats proposed privacy legislation designed ensure the privacy and security of proposed COVID-19 contact tracing apps. Senate Republicans released a competing privacy bill...

AMA Shares Privacy Principles for Non-HIPAA Covered Entities, Data

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The American Medical Association unveiled a set of privacy principles for non-HIPAA covered entities, designed to empower consumers with more control over the health data collected about them. AMA will...

FTC Seeks Comment on Breach Notification Rule for Health Data

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The Federal Trade Commission is seeking comment from industry stakeholders on breach notification requirements for entities that collect personally identifiable health information but aren’t...

Judge Approves $8.9M Banner Health Settlement Over 2016 Data Breach

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A Federal judge of the US District Court of Arizona has given final approval for the class-action lawsuit against Banner Health, stemming from its June 2016 data breach that impacted more than 3.7...

ACLU, Scientists Urge Privacy Focus for COVID-19 Tracing Technology

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As Google, Apple, and others work to develop COVID-19 contact tracing technology, the American Civil Liberties Union and a group of 200 scientists are warning of potential privacy risks posed by these...

Congress Presses Kushner on COVID-19 Health Data Surveillance Project

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Several members of Congress are pressing White House Advisor Jared Kushner amid privacy concerns, after reports showed the White House has assembled technology and healthcare firms to develop an...

Privacy Groups Urge Pence to Combat COVID-19 Fraud, Patient Harms

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A group of more than 30 national advocacy, industry, and research groups are calling on Vice President Mike Pence and the White House Coronavirus Task Force, the Department of Justice, and the Food and...

Coronavirus Relief Package Needs Privacy Focus, Groups Tell Congress

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Thirteen civil-society groups are urging Congress to keep patient privacy protections center stage in any drafted Coronavirus relief packages, and any waivers of these protections must exclusively...

Sens. Flag Privacy, Security Concerns Over Google COVID-19 Screening Site

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A group of Democratic Senators are raising concerns about the potential Google COVID-19 screening website over possible privacy and cybersecurity risks, after the Trump Administration announced Google...

Senate GOP Bill Proposes Federal Privacy Standard Bill, Preempts States

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Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, released his spin on federal privacy legislation on March 12 that would establish a national privacy standard and preempt state privacy laws, after bipartisan talks came to...