Patient Privacy News

Quest Diagnostics Settles Unlawful PHI Disposal Allegations For $5M

February 21, 2024 - Quest Diagnostics reached a $5 million settlement to resolve allegations that the company illegally disposed of hazardous waste, medical waste, and protected health information (PHI) at its California facilities, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced. In addition to the $5 million, Quest will be required to make significant changes to its...


Articles

Senator Calls on FTC, SEC to Crack Down on Location Data Misuse

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US Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chairs urging them to hold a data broker accountable for alleged misleading...

Novant Health Reaches $6.6M Settlement Over Improper PHI Disclosures

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Novant Health agreed to pay $6.6 million to settle a class action lawsuit surrounding improper disclosures of protected health information (PHI) due to the health system’s use of third-party...

Lawmakers Push For Increased Patient Privacy Regarding Prescription Records

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Lawmakers have urged HHS to consider revising HIPAA to further protect patient privacy after observing routine disclosures of patient information from major pharmacy chains to law enforcement agencies...

Joint Commission Launches Certification Program For Responsible Health Data Use

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The Joint Commission has launched the Responsible Use of Health Data (RUHD) Certification program, a voluntary program aimed at providing hospitals, patients, and other key stakeholders with an...

23andMe Data Security Event Raises Concerns for Minority Health Data

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Minority groups are at risk following a potential data security event involving 23andMe may have resulted in health-related data and personally identifiable information (PII) of certain...

OCR Publishes Resources On Telehealth Privacy, Security Risks

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The HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) unveiled two resource documents to help providers communicate telehealth privacy and security risks to patients. The documents, entitled “Educating Patients...

Colorado AG Reaches Settlement With Skilled Nursing Center Over Data Breach

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Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser reached a settlement with Broomfield Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Center over a 2021 data breach. According to the announcement, Broomfield allegedly failed...

Indiana AG Sues IU Health For Violating Patient Privacy of 10-Year-Old Rape Victim

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Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita filed a lawsuit against the University of Indiana Health (IU Health) and IU Healthcare Associates over their alleged failure to safeguard patient privacy and abide...

KLAS: AI, Market Consolidation Impact Patient Privacy Monitoring Vendor Trends

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Patient privacy monitoring solutions help healthcare organizations manage privacy risks and detect unauthorized access to patient data, playing a crucial role in compliance and patient confidentiality....

Senators Seek Answers From Amazon Over Collection of Patient Data

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Senators Peter Welch (D-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) sent a letter to Amazon President and CEO Andy Jassy expressing concern over the privacy practices of Amazon Clinic, the...

FTC Proposes Settlement With Genetic Testing Company Over Unsecured Health Data

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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reached a proposed settlement with 1Health.io, a genetic testing company, over its alleged security and privacy failures. The order requires the company to pay...

10 Senators Call On Google to Uphold Location, Health Data Privacy Practices

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A group of 10 United States Senators penned a letter to Google asking for answers about its location data privacy practices. In July 2022, Google announced plans to delete location history when users...

Insight Global Settles Class Action Lawsuit After Contact Tracing Breach

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Insight Global, the contact tracing program administrator hired by the state of Pennsylvania, has reached a proposed settlement to resolve a class-action healthcare data breach lawsuit. The breach,...

Nearly All US Acute Care Hospitals Transfer Data to Third Parties, Study Finds

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University of Pennsylvania researchers found third-party tracking technologies on nearly all US nonfederal acute care hospital websites, a Health Affairs study revealed. Researchers studied all US...

Cerebral Notifies 3.1M Users of Healthcare Data Breach Stemming From Pixel Use

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Telehealth platform Cerebral reported a healthcare data breach to HHS impacting more than 3.1 million individuals. Cerebral provides online therapy and medication management to millions of...

FTC Proposes $7.8M Settlement With BetterHelp Over Improper Health Data Sharing

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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) proposed a $7.8 million settlement with online counseling service BetterHelp, resolving allegations of improper health data sharing practices. In addition, the...

Senators Introduce UPHOLD Privacy Act to Prevent Use of Health Data For Advertising

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US Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) introduced the Upholding Protections for Health and Online Location Data (UPHOLD) Privacy Act,...

FTC Warns Amazon About Improper Health Data Sharing Following One Medical Acquisition

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Following Amazon’s finalized acquisition of membership-based primary care practice One Medical, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sent a letter to Amazon reminding it of its obligations to...

Senators Introduce Bill to Bolster HIPAA Protections For Patients Seeking Reproductive Healthcare

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US Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) introduced the Secure Access for Essential Reproductive (SAFER) Health Act, which offers strengthened HIPAA protections that would prohibit...