“Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me.”
F. Scott Fitzgerald, “The Rich Boy”, 1926
In healthcare, they have more privacy. Read more »
Another lost laptop; another press release, something entirely too common these days. But one press release issued last week had an element that caught my eye and serves as a reminder that encrypted laptops are not a panacea for those who want to have data readily at hand in a portable device. Read more »
A couple of weeks ago, Chantal Bernier, Assistant Privacy Commissioner of Canada, made a presentation in Toronto that included something that strikes me as a positive and noteworthy development. It was about how the federal Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (“OPC”) now looks at privacy impact assessments (“PIAs”). Read more »
A conversation about privacy and ethics last week led to an intriguing thought: should privacy officers become self-regulated? Read more »
A previous post, Kindergarten Privacy, caught the attention of ITWorldCanada. This led to an conversation with Dave Webb of ComputerWorld Canada on a variety of topics. The interview is presented here.
This post was co-written by Michael Power and Anita Fineberg.
Ontario’s Diabetes Initiative raises more troubling questions than could be addressed in one posting, so here’s Part 2. Read more »
A little over a month ago a post, written by Michael Martineau and Michael Power, was published on this blog (as well as eHealth Musings and ITWorld Canada) entitled “Dear McGill University Health Centre … About Your PHR”. Shortly after it appeared, the authors were contacted by Philippe Panzini, Chief Technology Officer at MEDICAL.MD EHR INC., the company which developed and operates Unani. Mr. Panzini responded with the following letter and we think it merits publication – if only to indicate that the company does indeed take privacy and security very seriously. We weren’t expecting this and Mr. Panzini is to be commended not only for the letter but also the indicated actions. Read more »
Hi there. We’re the Ontario Government. We know you have diabetes but don’t worry we’re here to help. We’re going to send “The Diabetes Testing Report” to your doctor. It will tell him or her when you last had three important tests: blood sugar test (A1C), cholesterol test (LDL), and retinal eye exam. If you don’t want us to do this, you can contact our general service provider, Service Ontario, to “opt out”. Please do so by 11 June 2010.
This is the gist of a Public Notice that I understand appeared in newspapers in Ontario on the 24-25 April 2010 weekend. Read more »
I was asked a most intriguing question the other day. How would I describe privacy concepts…to a four year old? Read more »
On 31 August 2009, Health Canada issued a Notice indicating that “patient management software” is subject to the Medical Devices Regulations (“MDRs”) and regulated under Canada’s Food and Drugs Act. While this action is laudable, the approach taken by Health Canada raises questions as to whether privacy and security are sufficiently addressed in this new regulation of EHRs and EMRs in Canada. Read more »
