T.A. LeBrun reports: Concerns have arisen over a July 21 order by Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) Commissioner Jan Malcolm to release the private health data of non-tribal members living on the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Reservation to tribal health authorities. The order specifically relates to the transmission of COVID-19 and instructs local public…
Category: Healthcare
Cry of privacy breach as Kerala cops tap call records of Covid patients
KP Saikiran reports: Kerala, whose scientific contact-tracing strategy in the initial weeks of the pandemic became a model for others to follow, has now worked up an ethical and legal storm with a controversial police decision to collect call detail records (CDR) of Covid-positive citizens and draw up “route maps” to trace those who came…
Germany Prepares New Law for Patient Data Protection and Increased Digitalisation in Healthcare and for “Data Donations” for Research Purposes
Dr. Adem Koyuncu and Valerie Mei of Covington & Burling write: On 3 July 2020, the German parliament passed a draft bill (German language) for patient data protection and for more digitalisation in the German healthcare system (Patientendaten-Schutz-Gesetz). The draft bill is currently in the legislative procedure and is expected to enter into force in…
Coronavirus is halting US data privacy efforts across tech companies
Donna Miller reports: Data privacy has taken a backseat by way of nationwide priorities within the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, as Congress has shifted its complete focus to the virus and US tech companies have begun working with state and federal authorities to achieve potential sufferers. The US has turned to Silicon Valley in…