patient data news from FierceHealthcare

A Seattle-based health system has agreed to pay a $100,000 HIPAA fine--as well as improve its medical data security--after failing to properly secure data backup tapes, disks and laptops. During 2005 Read more...

Recently, identity thieves have become increasingly focused on stealing medical records--and have begun using better methods to get patient data, too. Medical records offer a rich trove of Read more...

> Despite the volume of political dialog on the subject, it seems unlike that there will be big changes in the U.S. health IT infrastructure this year. Read more...

> A case alleging that a physician hastened a patient's death to harvest his organs has thrown a spotlight on the organ donor system. Read more...

> The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) may not have the clout of the AMA, but it's doing what it can on the lobbying front nonetheless. It's meeting with legislators on Capitol Hill to ask them to stop the planned 10 percent Medicare reimbursement cut. Article

> Tenet has struck a deal with Aetna which extends the Aetna network to all of the chain's 60 subsidiary-owned or operated hospitals. …

Read more...

> Florida's Medicaid reform pilot isn't working out as well as supporters had hoped. Article

> Tennessee's largest malpractice insurer has cut premium costs by an overall 4.2 percent, a cut which has prompted some to suggest that tort reform isn't needed. …

Read more...

> Sutter Health has agreed to a joint venture with HealthSouth under which it will run a group of California surgery centers, as well as possibly developing more. Article

> Looks like a growing number of providers are setting up systems which cut or even eliminate waits for care. …

Read more...

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is facing a public controversy after a donor pitch letter inadvertently exposed the former patients' Social Security numbers. The letter, which went out to about 6,000 former patients earlier this month, included a tracking code that integrated the SSN. The code was visible through the envelope window. Critics call the inclusion of the SSN a serious mishap, arguing that it could expose the 6,000 recipients to identity theft. UPMC denies that …

Read more...

Giving patients real-time information on what their treatment is costing them can be difficult, but can pay off big-time over the long-term through improved collections and higher satisfaction. In this paper, the Healthcare Financial Management Association offers some suggestions as to how hospitals can blend provider and patient data to make this happen. Report (.pdf)

Just a week after high-profile Maryland hospital Johns Hopkins lost data on thousands of patients and employees, a second Maryland hospital has reported losing data on about 130,000 former and current patients. St. Mary's Hospital just notified the patients that a laptop stocked with their personal information was stolen from a hospital late last year, in December. The laptop, which was …

Read more...