A community of 30,000 US Transcriptionist serving Medical Transcription Industry

Another medical record breach - and we can blame the internet

Posted: Apr 05, 2010

Below is a link to another breach of medical records. We can directly blame the fact that today's medical records largely dwell on the internet. Lest some of you come back with "but without the internet, we would not have jobs", let me tell you that we got along without the internet previously and had higher pay because the offshore vultures could not get at the records and we were in higher demand. We can do it again.

http://valley.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/archives/entry/data_breach_at_griffin_hospital

Direct dial-up access does offer better security - but is not perfect by any means.

[ In Reply To ..]
Virtually any means of electronic communication can be "spoofed", "hijacked" or subverted in some way but the Internet is by far the worst in this regard.

The real culprit is the organization and its desire to drive down costs. Security (of anything, not just information) is always possible if you're willing to pay enough for it, but by the same token, security is regarded as an added cost of doing business and of course we MUST minimize our costs, mustn't we?

What happens, then, is that organizations will go just "so far" in terms of security measures (costs, remember!), and then they "accept" the residual risks that still remain - which can be enormous. What they are doing, of course, is whistling past the graveyard, HOPING that the goblins and ghoulies won't notice that their suit of armor is, in fact, constructed out of tissue paper...and that it's starting to rain.

Now, if you find it somewhat bizarre that anyone else could have the hudzpah - the unmitigated gall - to "accept" the risk of YOUR identity being compromised, you'll be happy to know that you're not crazy for thinking that way.

Well put - exactly

[ In Reply To ..]
nm

You think dial-up was SECURE? - Ima MT

[ In Reply To ..]
"radiologist used pilfered passwords of his former co-workers to obtain patient images from hospital computers. "

If he was going to "pilfer passwords" he could have done the same thing by walking into a medical records department, calling into dial up systems, etc.

Overall, I think the internet is safer. If someone wants to be a criminal, it's not going to matter where we transcribe. Blaming the internet and the state of transcription on a radiologist with an agenda is silly, IMO.

medical records should not live online at all - so it makes no difference

[ In Reply To ..]
whether it is dialup or high speed internet. It is still internet and not safe. Let's don't obscure the point here.

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[ In Reply To ..]

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This is an AD. And most of these ads are SCAMS. - no msg.

[ In Reply To ..]

This simple fact remains... you can't dial into, VPN into, hack into - LoriMT

[ In Reply To ..]
a paper chart. You have to physically walk into an HIM department, pull files, and hand copy the info you are looking for.

Thanks to todays advances in technology and Obama's push for EMR, all it takes is a few keystrokes and you have access to someone's entire medical history, address, phone, ssn, PCP, employer, insurance info...

I love working at home and the internet is great and all. I'm just saying back in the "old days" there was more security -- security of the medical record and JOB security -- you can't deny that.

Seriously? - Ima MT

[ In Reply To ..]
You thought paper records were SECURE?

And many of the voice recording systems are also "hackable".

If someone INTENDS to steal data, it really doesn't matter where it's housed.

The EMR is going to be a huge plus in our lives, I'm very excited about it!

Seriously. Paper records are not as readily available - LoriMT

[ In Reply To ..]
to the public as an EMR. In order to "hack" a paper medical record, you have to find your way into a hospital, find the HIM department, gain entry to a usually locked file room, find the patient's MRN, and then understand how to go about finding a file within a terminal digit filing system.

With EMR, if you've got a computer, it's all at your finger tips. High school kids can hack into supposedly secure systems and wreak havoc. Once "inside" a system, simply search by patient name. You don't even have to leave the comfort of your home. It's that simple.

Most law enforcement officials will tell you the harder the criminal has to work, the less likely he/she is to commit the crime. They give up. I would think the idea of having to waltz into a hospital, find the right department, etc. would be enough to put any would be "hacker" off.

And the EMR is going to be the end of medical transcription as we know it. Aside from the glaring reality that most MT work is sent to India presently, the rest of the work will follow suit once they've converted everything to EMR. Secondly, I have a feeling Obamacare is going to be similar to the healthcare that our veterans have endured for decades which is government run healthcare and if you've ever been inside a VA Medical Center with someone trying to get any kind of care, you know what I mean. In the VA system, with the exception of the radiology departments, most physicians do their own transcription. There is a PC in the exam room and as they are talking to you, they are typing into the computer. Eliminates MT all together.

But hey while you continue to fart your rainbows, I'm going to face reality and find a new career path to follow all the while I plan on sounding off about the slow death of the American MT.

Perhaps - Ima MT

[ In Reply To ..]
You fall into that category of MT who SHOULD lose their job. :) Just sayin' as to how respectful and knowledgeable you are and all.

MOST MT work is NOT sent to India. If you can prove it is, I'll issue an apology. Until then, you're simply sounding like a Republican and making it up as you go to support your view.

ANYONE who wants to get hold of records will get them. Before the internet, you just didn't know about the breaches because no one was broadcasting it far and wide. They happened. They will continue to happen. NO system is perfect.

I, however, would rather know my medical history is available to practitioners who need it.

As to my fart rainbows, your stupidity speaks volumes. It's shared each time you put lie after lie and decide insults were better than factual conversation.

Ima MT- Still working, paid well, recently acknowledged by my company for doing some extra, and who has, if need be, a professional degree to use in the event MT "dies" which I just don't see happening. Reforming, reshaping, redefining.

According to Depart of Labor Statistics, there are around 105,000 US MTs. - LoriMT

[ In Reply To ..]
That figure is more than doubled in India alone. So do the math. If there are 100,000 U.S. MTs and 200,000 Indian MTs, where do you suppose most of the jobs are going to end up?

You keep wearing your rose colored glasses, hon.

Statistics - Not your Hon

[ In Reply To ..]
Statistics are about as useful as this conversation has been.

Does that include small business owners (aka IC)?

And my rose-colored glasses work just fine because my job is secure as is my future. I don't whine about the industry, I made sure I could continue to thrive in it. Try it some time.

Absolutely! (sm) - Long time MT

[ In Reply To ..]
For those of us who have been around long enough to see the evolution or devolution of MT, I would gladly give up the Internet to get our profession back.

Agree totally. - me

[ In Reply To ..]
I managed a medical office for ten years. Quite frankly, I banged heads with the doc's wife because she wanted our computers online. No way, no how, no sally, as far as I was concerned. There was NO guaranteed way to have computerized online records safe guarded, so that someone could not hack into our system. That was how it was back then, and that's how it is now. Computers are hacked daily no matter what precautions are devised. It happens. To me, a medical record is an absolutely confidential record, and you should treat it as such.

I've been working at home since that job. I type for a small MTSO and send 'em back however the offices want, but I do not GUARANTEE the records are safe. You can't.

The only problem with that is the doctors would have to give it up - as well.

[ In Reply To ..]
This would mean no radiologists interpreting CT scans from home in the evening or weekend. Back to on-call MT work; run into the hospital for one STAT,come home, run back, come home. Sorry, my gas tank requires quite a bit of gas. I hope they would pay time and a half.

I sure hope some diagnosis is not made promptly due to the fact that we have no hi-tech equipment; most of it requires the internet these days especially for troubleshooting programming issues.

Giving up the internet is insane and is going back to dinosaur times.

Please think about this if you were in a terminal illness situation where you needed that to rely on for treatment. Life is not all about MTs having a job; sorry and yes I am an MT; but it is not always about my work!

There was yet another one just this week at - John Muir Med. Center in Concord. -sm

[ In Reply To ..]
This wasn't even on the internet, it was someone walking off with 2 laptops that had the info. of 5,000 patients on it. Imagine putting all your patients' info. on a LAPTOP, and then walking out of the room and leaving it sitting there? They say, "Oh, not to worry - everything has passwords and is encrypted." Sure it is. And that's what hackers do - they break right through all that stuff like it's nothing, and then sell the info. for big profits.

I think the problem of medical record security is probably a lot deeper and more serious than anyone realizes.

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