Re: North Carolina - EMS patient data is stolen

[blitz <blitz () strikenet kicks-ass net>]

I will wholeheartedly agree, but due to the lack of HIPPA 
enforcement, this is barking at the moon, unless you can obtain 
enough information, (which is kept away from victims) to allow a 
civil action to go forward.

At 12:13 7/18/2006, you wrote:
> The ambulance company probably has a business associate agreement 
> with one or more health care providers, so they are probably a 
> covered entity under HIPAA. What is disturbing about these cases 
> where medical information is specifically targeted is that the folks 
> making the breach notifications are not giving consumers proper 
> warnings about the medical aspects of identity theft. For example, 
> these breach victims should be specifically checking their insurance 
> company payouts even more than their credit report.
>
> We published a report on medical identity theft in May, and have 
> just published a detailed FAQ for victims. The harms for medical 
> identity theft can be profound and challenging for victims to 
> uncover and resolve: 
> <http://www.worldprivacyforum.org/medicalidentitytheft.html>.
>
> --Pam Dixon
>
>
>
> On Jul 17, 2006, at 6:49 PM, blitz wrote:
>
> > In their position, this is prob a violation of patients HIPPA rights.
> >  HOWEVER, the organization in charge of enforcing HIPPA 
> > complaints, has yet to undertake a single enforcement action. 
> > Wonder why? It's full of self-protecting doctors, insurance-scum 
> > and is protecting their own backsides of course.
> >  HIPPA is worthless!
> >
> >
> >  At 19:34 7/17/2006, you wrote:
> >
> > > (From June, but not yet mentioned on this list.  Courtesy Beth Givens
> > >  and Privacy Rights Clearinghouse):
> > >
> > > http://www.fayettevillenc.com/article?id=235733
> > >
> > >  Published on Wednesday, June 21, 2006
> > >
> > >  By Nancy McCleary
> > >  Staff writer
> > >
> > >  A portable computer containing the personal information of more than
> > >  24,000 people was stolen from a Cumberland County ambulance June 8.
> > >
> > >  The computer contained the information of 24,350 people treated in the
> > >  past year by Cumberland County Emergency Medical Services.
> > >
> > >  Cape Fear Valley Health System, which operates the EMS, has notified the
> > >  N.C. Attorney General.s Office and mailed letters to the affected people,
> > >  urging them to monitor bank and credit card accounts, said Clinton Weaver,
> > >  a spokesman for the health system.
> > >
> > >  "We're treating this incident seriously," he said. "We know the importance
> > >  of patient confidentiality, and we're looking at ways to prevent this in
> > >  the future."
> > >
> > >  [...]
> > >
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