Posted on Dec 31, 2015
Another VA headache: Privacy violations rising at veterans’ medical facilities
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RP Members unfortunately the VA can't catch a break - check out the latest!
What are your thoughts on the Privacy Violations? Has this happened to you?
When Anthony McCann opened a thick manila envelope from the Department of Veterans Affairs last year, he expected to find his own medical records inside.
Instead, he found over 250 pages of deeply revealing personal information on another veteran’s mental health.
“It had everything about him, and I could have done anything with it,” McCann said in an interview.
It wasn’t the first time McCann had received another veteran’s medical records. In the past, he informed the VA, then threw away the misdirected documents. This time, after failing to make contact with the other veteran on his own, McCann took the documents to a town hall meeting held by the director of the VA’s Tennessee Valley Healthcare System.
What are your thoughts on the Privacy Violations? Has this happened to you?
When Anthony McCann opened a thick manila envelope from the Department of Veterans Affairs last year, he expected to find his own medical records inside.
Instead, he found over 250 pages of deeply revealing personal information on another veteran’s mental health.
“It had everything about him, and I could have done anything with it,” McCann said in an interview.
It wasn’t the first time McCann had received another veteran’s medical records. In the past, he informed the VA, then threw away the misdirected documents. This time, after failing to make contact with the other veteran on his own, McCann took the documents to a town hall meeting held by the director of the VA’s Tennessee Valley Healthcare System.
Another VA headache: Privacy violations rising at veterans’ medical facilities
Posted from stripes.com
Privacy
Records
Information Assurance
Posted 9 y ago
Responses: 3
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COL Mikel J. Burroughs
I'm actually about to start working at the VA doing IT security on their healthcare systems. A big part of my pre-employment training was on privacy and HIPAA violations. This is a HUGE no-no and somebody should very well fry over this. I suggest that the veteran contact that VA's "Privacy Officer."
I'm actually about to start working at the VA doing IT security on their healthcare systems. A big part of my pre-employment training was on privacy and HIPAA violations. This is a HUGE no-no and somebody should very well fry over this. I suggest that the veteran contact that VA's "Privacy Officer."
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PO1 John Miller
SGM Steve Wettstein
If anything, the person(s) involved will probably get "remedial security training."
If anything, the person(s) involved will probably get "remedial security training."
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PO2 Nick Burke
They should fry. But based on history it will not be a supervisor much less a manager.
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22M Veterans Currently. "About" 2M Serving at any given time.
- The move to "Cloud" storage.
Security is based on TIME. Security requires the ability to ACCESS the information. Because the VA is decentralized (because of necessity), we are going to see increased attacks, and increased "quantitative" if not percentage problems with record keeping.
Eventually, the right kind of attack is going to shut the VA Record Keeping (or National Archives) down. We will have a catastrophic failure. Not if, but when. Because politicians are not IT professionals, and do not understand what it takes to build the correct infrastructure to support this. No different than roads, bridges, etc... which we are also letting fall apart.
- The move to "Cloud" storage.
Security is based on TIME. Security requires the ability to ACCESS the information. Because the VA is decentralized (because of necessity), we are going to see increased attacks, and increased "quantitative" if not percentage problems with record keeping.
Eventually, the right kind of attack is going to shut the VA Record Keeping (or National Archives) down. We will have a catastrophic failure. Not if, but when. Because politicians are not IT professionals, and do not understand what it takes to build the correct infrastructure to support this. No different than roads, bridges, etc... which we are also letting fall apart.
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COL Mikel J. Burroughs IMO the VA needs to publicly show that the ones responsible for acts of this kind are being disciplined. I personally don't trust the VA to do anything medical for me and use them once a year to stay active in the system, in case as a last resort I have to use them.
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