All articles tagged with #patient records
Epic Systems filed a federal lawsuit against Health Gorilla and several clients, alleging fraud and breach of contract after nearly 300,000 Epic-managed patient records were accessed by individuals posing as healthcare providers and used for financial gain rather than treatment, highlighting ongoing data-security concerns in health information networks.
A significant healthcare data breach exposed over 8.8 million appointment records and 2.7 million patient profiles due to a misconfigured database linked to a dental marketing company, raising concerns about data security, potential identity theft, and compliance with health privacy laws.
Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center in Houston has halted liver and kidney transplants as it investigates "inappropriate changes" to patient records in a government database, which may have prevented patients from receiving new organs. The hospital is looking into alterations to liver donor acceptance criteria that effectively made candidates on the liver transplant waiting list inactive. The US Department of Health and Human Services is involved in the investigation, and the physician under scrutiny, Dr. Steve Bynon Jr., has been removed from leadership roles in the transplant programs. Patients like Mandy Sears, who has been waiting for a kidney transplant, are left uncertain and concerned about their status amidst the allegations.
Surgeon Dr. Steven Bynon Jr. is being investigated for allegedly altering patient records to deny them liver transplants at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center in Houston, leading to a disproportionately high number of patients on the liver list dying. The hospital has since shut down its liver and kidney transplant programs, both led by Bynon, after discovering the irregularities in the government database. Bynon admitted to making secret changes to patient records, but the motive remains undisclosed.
A congressional inquiry has revealed that three of the largest pharmacy chains in the US, CVS Health, Kroger, and Rite Aid, have been providing prescription records to law enforcement without requiring a warrant, raising concerns about patient privacy. The other five pharmacy groups, Walgreens, Cigna, Optum Rx, Walmart, and Amazon, stated that they do require a legal review before releasing such information. The inquiry found that pharmacies receive tens of thousands of legal requests annually for patient records, with the majority being submitted in connection with civil litigation. Lawmakers are urging the Health and Human Services Department to strengthen regulations under HIPAA to align with privacy expectations and constitutional principles.