A rock and a hard place? Ministry of Defence | Defence News | MOD confirms loss of recruitment data

[James Cox]

On 28 Jan 2008, at 22:46, Adrian Midgley wrote:

>
>>> In a three-to-two ruling, a New York state appellate court ruled  
>>> that punitive damages can be awarded for the unintentional  
>>> disclosure of sensitive medical information. In the case of Randi  
>>> A.J. (Anonymous) v. Long Island Surgi-Center, No. 2005-04976 (N.Y.  
>>> Sup. Ct. App. Div. Sept. 25, 2007), despite specific instructions  
>>> from the twenty-year-old patient not to contact her at home, the  
>>> center placed a call to the home
>
>
>
> Yet again, more information was collected and held than was needed,  
> and ill came of it.
>
> If the patient's home address and phone number had not been provided  
> then the information she did not wish revealed to there would have  
> been distinctly difficult to reveal to there.

There are strong medical reasons why such information is necessary.  
Next of kin, anyone?

The medical code of confidentiality is extremely simple. Disclosure of  
patient data is illegal, period. Except, of course, when you're  
dealing with a minor... (or someone who is deemed unable to make their  
own medical decisions, in which case a next of kin or guardian ad  
litum is assigned...)

- james