PA State Board of Psychology Update: November 2011

Psychology November 2011

Congress examines health data thefts

By Jeremy Herb

The Star Tribune

In the wake of high-profile health-care data breaches in Minnesota this year, Sen. Al Franken on Wednesday examined how sensitive data can be better protected as more of it moves to the "wild, wild West" of the Internet.

Thefts of laptops containing patient data from Fairview and North Memorial hospitals earlier this year were just a small slice of health data thefts in the United States. In a 15-month span, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) found that more than 50 laptops were stolen from hospitals, clinics and medical centers.

The entire story can be found here.

Healthcare Industry Still Struggling with Information Breaches

By Carlton Purvis

www.securitymanagement.com

The healthcare industry experiences more data breaches than any other industry, according to Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (PRC) data.

PRC maintains a database of privacy breaches from 2005 to the present. When available, the database includes what type of information was breached, how many records were affected, the organization that was storing the data, the types of records accessed, and a narrative of the circumstances surrounding the breach.

In 2011, 170 of 481 publicly disclosed breaches happened in the medical industry. Most of the breaches (50 breaches containing at least four million records) happened after portable data devices went missing. In several cases, the information was on laptops and flash drives that had been stolen or lost.

The entire story is here.

Database on Doctor Discipline Is Restored, With Restrictions

By Duff Wilson

The New York Times

Health

A federal health agency on Wednesday restored to its Web site a database of doctor disciplinary actions two months after removing it from the Internet in response to a doctor’s complaints.

But the return of the information came with a catch. It has a new requirement that anyone who uses it must first promise not to link information in the database with publicly available information, like court files, that would identify individual doctors.

And that was exactly the way journalists for many news organizations had used the national data bank, which masked individual doctors’ names, as material for articles about weaknesses in the oversight of doctors with dozens of malpractice cases and gaps in disciplinary actions.

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But journalists and other researchers have linked specific malpractice payments in court cases with the specific amounts reported in the Public Use file to fairly easily crack the code, add up cases against doctors, and report the results.

Dr. Sidney M. Wolfe, director of health research at the Washington nonprofit group Public Citizen, said it was “obnoxious” and “unacceptable” for the administration to impose the condition on journalists and researchers.

The entire story can be read here.

A prior blog entry on this issue can be found here.

Safety in Youth Sports Act becomes Law in Pennsylvania

PPA Press Release
Originally released 11/14/2011

Governor Corbett signed the Safety in Youth Sports Act today in a ceremony at Lower Dauphin High School, Dauphin County. The state General Assembly passed it on November 1. The legislation is Senate Bill 200, introduced by Sen. Patrick M. Browne (R-Lehigh). It was shepherded through the House by Rep. Timothy P. Briggs (D-Montgomery), who had introduced the companion bill, House Bill 200.

This bill established standards for managing concussions to student athletes. In order to return to play the athlete must be cleared by a licensed psychologist trained in neuropsychology, by a physician who is trained in the evaluation and management of concussions, or by certain other health care providers under the supervision of the physician. The Pennsylvania Psychological Association's advocacy was instrumental in this bill's passage. The association's past president, Dr. Mark Hogue stated, "This new law will be extremely important to any athlete who suffers a concussion. Athletes who return to play prematurely are at risk of a second concussion, which can be life-threatening." Dr. Hogue is a clinical and sport psychologist from Erie.

The bill will require the state Departments of Health and Education to develop and post on their websites information on the nature of concussions in athletic activities and the risks associated with continuing to play or practice after a concussion. Student-athletes and their parents or guardians must sign an acknowledgment of receipt of an information sheet on concussions prior to participation in athletics. It will require coaches to complete a concussion management certification training course before coaching any athletic activity. During an athletic contest coaches will be required to remove athletes from competition if they exhibit signs of a concussion.

The legislation will become effective on July 1, 2012, in time for the next school year. It does not pertain to private schools, but only to public schools. It covers interscholastic athletics as well as other sports associated with a school entity, and includes cheerleading, practices, and scrimmages.

In N.H.L., Disclosure of Concussions Is Lagging

By Jeff Z. Klein

The New York Times

Hockey

Concussions continued to cast a long shadow over the N.H.L. on Thursday.

The Rangers said there was no update on the condition of defenseman Marc Staal, who has not played this season and is still recovering from a concussion sustained in February that the club did not disclose until September.

Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby, who has been sidelined by a concussion since early January, was cleared for contact a month ago and has practiced all week, including Wednesday, when he took several hard hits. Despite speculation that he would return for Friday’s home game against the Dallas Stars, Coach Dan Bylsma said Crosby would not play in either of the team’s games this weekend. That leaves Tuesday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche as the earliest possible return date for Crosby.

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The N.H.L. has earned praise this season for taking measures to reduce concussions, including introducing stronger rules against boarding and checks to the head, and strictly enforcing those rules through fines and suspensions. But questions persist about a league policy that allows teams to be vague about disclosure of injuries, and a recent incident suggested that in-game concussion protocols might be inconsistently applied.

The entire story can be read here.

Doctors Might Miss Some Cases of Child Abuse

By Robert Preidt

MedicineNet.com

Many cases of child abuse are not reported by primary health care providers, a new study suggests.

Primary care providers (PCPs) are usually doctors but can also be physician assistants and nurse practitioners.

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The PCPs and child abuse experts agreed about the suspicion of abuse in 81% of the cases, but PCPs did not report 21% of injuries that the experts said they would have reported to child protective services (CPS).

The story can be read here.

The research article can be found here.

U.C.L.A. Health System Warns About Stolen Records

LOS ANGELES (AP) — UCLA’s system of hospitals and clinics warned more than 16,000 patients that their personal information was on a computer hard drive stolen in the burglary of a doctor’s home, officials said Friday.

The UCLA Health System sent letters to the 16,288 patients affected, warning them of possible identity theft and giving them contact information for a data security company the system has enlisted for help.

Someone using the documents for identity theft was “very unlikely,” but there was a possibility, the statement said.

“UCLA’s concern for its patients is absolute, and we deeply regret any breach of confidentiality and the stress and concern it might cause,” it said.

The whole story can be found here.

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.

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"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.