- http://abcnews.go.com/Health/medical-records-private-abc-news-investigation/story?id=17228986#.UNR6tIPAcfE
- http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/medical-records-confidential-17231593
Provide names of other journalists involved.
Jim Avila, Brian Hartman
List date(s) this work was published or aired.
13-Sep-12
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
Despite government rules, some medical records are not as private as you think. And while most hospitals have rules about who may access medical records, compliance for the most part is not strictly regulated; with breaches occurring at hospitals across the country. Through our investigation we found medical records for sale on the internet with the victims having no clue their information was readily available for purchase. Insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies and even some hospitals use the information to help target expensive and new treatments and gain a better picture of local residents. While hospitals say patient privacy is paramount, there are no restrictions on records and any employee has access.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
Web browser to show how easy it is to find patient data online. FBI documents/statements about investigations into recent breaches by employees the HHS Health Information Privacy Tool The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse HIPAA legislation and the HIPAA privacy act since 2004 Victim/Patient Julie’s medical records and legal correspondence with hospital (provided by patient) Published journal articles/studies on Electronic Health Records (HER) and Privacy Risk Assessments
Explain types of human sources used.
Dr. Deborah Peel, founder and chairwoman of Patient Privacy Rights and practicing physician IT specialist Greg Porter, a consultant with Allegheny Digital Joy Pritts, Chief Privacy Officer for the HHS Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Victim– named Rafael Victim/Patient, Julie, a lawyer from Boston, discovered that her sensitive health information was available to anyone who worked at the hospital. Hospital Public Relations where Julie’s breach occurred. sources to confirm hospital leaks and data access by employees Laytanya Sweeny, professor/researcher/expert in field
Results:
Medical data for sale on the internet without patients consent.
Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
No
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
Having sources lined up ready to go is important. We had two IT specialists change their minds at the last minute. Be ready to adapt. When we found all the information on the patients on-line we changed the story layout to go and see if those people had knowingly provided consent.