Resource Pages

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Electronic medical records rarely encrypted: expert

(Reuters) - Electronic medical records, which the Obama administration would like to see widely used, are rarely encrypted so a data breach could be triggered by the simple theft of a laptop or misplaced thumb drive, a privacy expert told lawmakers on Wednesday.

Regulations require healthcare providers to report data breaches unless the data lost had been encrypted.

(cut)

"The bottom line is that people have a right to privacy and to know that their data is safe and secure, and right now that right is not a reality," Franken said after the hearing.

The entire story can be found here.