#patient-privacy

#patient-privacy

An orthopedic center with several locations in the Capital Region faces a $500,000 fine for failing to protect patient information. The New York Attorney General, Letitia James, said an investigation into Orthopedics NY LLP found the orthopedic medicine and surgery center failed to adequately protect its systems, exposing the personal information of more than 650,000 patients and employees. The AG's office said cyberattackers gained remote access to OrthopedicsNY's patient data in 2023 by using compromised login credentials.

Recently, an acquaintance of an acquaintance (let's call her Dina) heard that I was a therapist and an educator and asked if she could chat with me (she approved this write-up). She shared that she had discovered her therapist was using AI to partially conduct their sessions. While I won't go into how the issue came to light, Dina mentioned that she felt shock and anguish. She was terrified that her protected health information (PHI) and feelings were "out on the internet."

"What is it like when you get erections?" is a question you do not want to hear in a 9am meeting. You would expect at least a little weekend catch-up before getting into all that. This piece of small talk comes from a consultant psychiatrist of the National Gender Service (NGS). Activist group Transgress the NGS released a video featuring this question last week taken during a regular assessment at the NGS.

The 159-year-old hospital has long served as a safety net for some of the city's poorest and most vulnerable residents, with some living at Laguna Honda for years. Nursing home reform supporters with the Gray Panthers, a group of advocates focused on long-term care and other issues facing older San Franciscans, estimate that the city has had to pay nearly $12 million in fines and lawsuit settlements relating to the sexual abuse scandal.

A nurse has admitted to professional misconduct over taking a photo of a surgical team carrying out an organ retrieval procedure in an operating theatre and later posting it on social media. A fitness-to-practise inquiry of the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland heard there was no clinical justification for the nurse to take the photograph on May 22, 2023, and to subsequently post it on her Facebook and Instagram accounts.

Today's reminder of the insider threat comes to us from the National Health Service in the U.K. Craig Meighan and Billy Gaddi report: A woman has been charged after Scots patients had their private medical records accessed during an NHS data breach. Reports suggest around 100 patients in NHS Lothian could have had their records accessed as a result of the incident. The health board said it discovered patients in the region may have had their information "inappropriately accessed" during routine monitoring.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) submitted a court filing on Tuesday opposing President Donald Trump's attempt to obtain the private medical records of transgender youth from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Shapiro said that complying with Trump's attempts would erode "trust between doctors and patients," violate his state's right to regulate healthcare, and achieve another step in Trump's quest to end gender-affirming care (GAC) for trans youth despite there being no federal law against it.

Two public hospital doctors have been granted bail after being arrested in Hong Kong on suspicion of leaking a cancer patient's medical data to highlight alleged professional shortcomings by her operating surgeon. Observers, meanwhile, said that although the incident did not align with the principles of "whistle-blowing", it underscored the need for a stronger "speak-up" culture within the Hospital Authority. The 35-year-old associate consultant and the 57-year-old consultant from Tseung Kwan O Hospital were released on bail on Tuesday and are required to report to police in late September.

They may come to the emergency room, bringing in someone who's suffering a medical crisis while being detained. They may wait in the lobby, as agents did for two weeks at an L.A.-area hospital waiting for a woman to be discharged. Or they may even chase people inside, as federal agents did at a Southern California surgical center. The sight of these agents often armed and with covered faces makes many wary and may keep people from seeking care.

You really want to get people to care as quickly as possible, but some people could be very anxious about those results as well, Cherabie said.

NHS staff are increasingly concerned about patients filming their medical treatments for social media, risking confidentiality and compromising the dignity of healthcare environments.