Michael Maguiness and David Smyth write: In the recent case of Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Preliminary Investigation Committee of the Medical Council of Hong Kong v Hospital Authority,(1) the High Court dismissed proceedings commenced by the chair and deputy chair (collectively, the chair) seeking to compel the Hospital Authority to disclose confidential…
Category: Healthcare
Hospital staff given access to patient records for research without consent – report
Elaine Edwards reports: Medical staff in a hospital were given access to patient files for their research and studies without the consent of the patients concerned, a major investigation by the Data Protection Commissioner has found. The investigation into the treatment of confidential patient records at 20 hospitals across the State by the regulator’s special…
Health Apps: Convenience vs. Security Risks
Christopher E. Hoyme writes: The pace of innovation in healthcare today has produced an amazing increase in the number of available mobile apps for health-related information. More than 300,000 healthcare apps are available online. These apps are developed and designed to fit within the “connected health model” which attempts to provide flexible and efficient healthcare…
Lawmakers Wrestle With Patient Privacy for Substance Abuse Records
Kerry Dooley Young reports: A House panel on Tuesday debated approaches for giving medical professionals broader access to information about patients’ histories of substance abuse, while also trying to protect people from discriminatory use of this information. The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s health panel held a hearing on proposed legislation, titled the Overdose Prevention…