Brett Kelman reports: A former Vanderbilt University Medical Center doctor who is accused of using his hospital privileges to snoop into the private medical records of his ex-wife has filed a lawsuit against the hospital for refusing to defend him in court. Dr. Douglas Burka, who was a surgical resident at Vanderbilt from 2010 to 2012,…
Category: Healthcare
NL: Major privacy breach: students could access hospital medical records
Ugh.DutchNews.nl reports: Students working for extra cash at Amsterdam’s OLVG hospital group have for years been given complete access to the medical records system, allowing them to read personal information about friends, family and famous people, the Volkskrant said on Friday. The leak was made public by a philosophy student who made telephone appointments for…
Facebook screens posts for suicide risk, and health experts have concerns
Jacqueline Howard reports: A pair of public health experts has called for Facebook to be more transparent in the way it screens posts for suicide risk and to follow certain ethical guidelines, including informed consent among users. The social media giant details its suicide prevention efforts online and says it has helped first responders conduct…
Vermont Wants To Stop Paying Sheriffs To Watch Mental Health Patients In ERs
Joe Cadillic sent along this news report on a serious real-world problem: protecting the safety of patients and hospital staff when healthcare privacy laws prohibit you from involving non-healthcare professionals. Amy Kolb Noyes and Peter Hirschfeld of VPR report: A shortage of mental health treatment beds in Vermont has forced hospital emergency rooms to provide…