Thieves, hackers and careless workers have breached the medical privacy of nearly 32 million Americans, including 4.6 million Californians, since 2009. Those numbers, taken from new U.S. Health & Human Services Department data, underscore a vulnerability of electronic health records. These records are more detailed than most consumer credit or banking files and could open the door to widespread identity theft, fraud, or worse. Consider the case of Tustin-based GMR Transcription Services Inc. The Federal Trade Commission alleges that in 2011 a GMR subcontractor put transcribed medical audio files on a computer server that was then indexed by Google.
A former pharmacy executive at a major New York City hospital was arrested on Tuesday and charged with stealing $5.6 million worth of narcotic painkillers from the medical center, authorities said. Anthony D'Alessandro, 47, former director of pharmacy services at Beth Israel Medical Center, was charged with stealing nearly 200,000 oxycodone pills from the hospital over five years, New York City Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget Brennan said in a statement. "One rogue pharmacist was responsible for the diversion of nearly 200,000 addictive pills. This case underscores the vigilance required when addictive medication with a high resale value is readily available," Brennan said in the statement.
A Texas-based hospital chain that is buying four Connecticut hospitals said in a surprise announcement Tuesday it will add a fifth to its roster: Saint Mary's in Waterbury. Connecticut's legislature this year passed a bill allowing for-profit hospitals to employ doctors, removing a hurdle that jeopardized Tenet Healthcare Corp.'s plans to buy four nonprofit hospitals in Connecticut: Waterbury, Bristol, Manchester Memorial and Rockville General. Tenet Healthcare said it had been in talks privately with executives at Saint Mary's for some time, but the hospital's board had to approve the acquisition, which it did last week.
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is doling out $100 million under ObamaCare to help expand new health centers around the country. The grant money will be available to 150 new centers next year and is meant to increase access to healthcare for underserved communities and vulnerable populations. "In communities across the country, Americans turn to their local Community Health Center for vital health care services that help them lead healthy, productive lives," HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell said in a statement. "That's why it's so important that the Affordable Care Act is supporting the expansion of health centers."
Chattanooga's success in achieving bargain-priced policies offers valuable lessons for other parts of the country as they seek to satisfy consumers with insurance networks that limit their choices of doctors and hospitals. Nationwide, about 70 percent of the lowest-priced plans included narrow networks, according to the consultants McKinsey & Company. But few places have put them into place as successfully as here in Eastern Tennessee, where BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, the area's dominant insurer, cut a low price deal with one of the three big hospital systems to be the sole provider in their cheapest network.
After months of negotiations, one strike and the threat of another, and intervention from the governor, Johns Hopkins Hospital and 2,000 service workers reached a tentative labor agreement early Tuesday that some said could become an "important benchmark" for the health care industry. The deal, which is to be submitted to the workers for a vote, came after seven hours of negotiations that ended at 2 a.m. It would affect housekeepers, cooks, janitors, surgical technicians and others. Officials with 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East said the agreement was prompted by an offer of raises for workers with at least 15 years of experience.