Another Privacy Blunder...

Gilead stepped in it again.  According to this piece  & others, the pharma corp revealed sensitive info on  mailers that could be seen by anyone viewing the outside of the envelope.   See below.

Who knows how many people received these. Many  are very private about their lives, especially their health.  The letters were a violation.  They could very well endanger the recipients. 

Not surprisingly, there's a lawsuit.  There should be.  Gilead is trying to get ahead of the matter.  But litigation may be the only  way to figure how such a thing happened at all.

Take care.

Cya...

Consent...

This article is about a bill in the New York State Senate Health Committee.  If passed, it would allow doctors to test anyone for HIV without consent.  There was some reference to signage in  medical centers, but it was unclear & would be all the warning the patient was given.  Entrance would be taken as consent.  That wouldn't fly for sex, why should it for medical procedures?

I absolutely support testing.  But, I also fully support consent.  Who decides which patients to test?  Who's going to pay for this test?  It shouldn't be the patient, if they didn't request it.   This approach may have good intentions, but it's very misguided.  It could set a precedence for very dangerous & invasive things.

Your consent should always be required for anything involving your person.  Anything else, no matter the intent, is a violation.

Cya...

Another Violation...

According to these 2 articles, 1 & 2,   A patient at University of Arkansas Medical School (UAMS) had their records exposed to the public by 4 people.  3 of which worked for UAMS.  The 1st violated privacy laws & revealed medial information about an HIV + patient to a coworker.   That coworker leaked the info to a party not affiliated with the hospital.  This person posted the records on Facebook.  A 3rd hospital employee knew of the matter, but said nothing to superiors.  All 3 were terminated & may be facing federal charges for violating the privacy laws associated with HIPAA.  Those papers you sign about your privacy everytime you go into the hospital or outpatient services.

I'm not sure why the active participants did this.  Could've been boredom or morbid curiosity.  Maybe they had a grudge against this patient.  All that matters is the person's privacy was violated in a way that can't be undone.  Whatever has happened, these criminals got what they were after & did their damage.   They should face severe punitive & monetary consequences.   Maybe losing $ & serving  time will teach them to mind their own business.

I doubt it, but they deserve it.   This patient has no reason to ever trust any medical establishment again.   This was a personal attack based on HIV stigma.  This was an assault on this person's life & well being.  There is no way these people didn't know what they did was illegal & unethical.  Another thing to worry about when seeking medical aid.  Just wonderful.

Cya...