The first days on the front line
The first case of the COVID-19 virus in the U.S. was diagnosed on Jan. 20. By March 26, the United States became the epicenter of the pandemic as domestic cases surpassed those in China and Italy for the first time. In the process, the steady uptick of domestic infections set in motion the nationwide closure of countless businesses and schools, cancelation of travel, and shelter in place orders. As life has abruptly been put
Healthcare Waste Institute’s FAQs Regarding COVID-19
The Healthcare Waste Institute (HWI) developed this FAQ to provide information about the evolving Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak first identified in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China. What is COVID-19? Coronavirus is a group of viruses named for the way they look under a microscope (“corona” meaning “crown”). The novel (or new) coronavirus, identified in 2019 during an investigation into an outbreak in Wuhan, China, causes the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The first case of
Patient Lawsuits for HIPAA-Related Breaches
HIPAA-related lawsuits came to the attention of Alexander Wolff when a fellow attorney called him with a case a few years ago. The plaintiff was a woman and friend of a man who was dating a nurse. The nurse, who worked at a hospital where the plaintiff received healthcare, was suspicious that the plaintiff and man were having an affair, so she accessed the woman’s chart. The nurse sent the man screen shots of the
Shortage of personal protective equipment endangering health workers worldwide
The World Health Organization has warned that severe and mounting disruption to the global supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) – caused by rising demand, panic buying, hoarding and misuse – is putting lives at risk from the new coronavirus and other infectious diseases. Healthcare workers rely on personal protective equipment to protect themselves and their patients from being infected and infecting others. But shortages are leaving doctors, nurses and other frontline workers dangerously ill-equipped
Anxiety mounts among U.S. health workers on the front lines of coronavirus outbreak
Doctors and nurses say they are alarmed by reports that multiple health workers in the United States have been sickened by a deadly coronavirus and that hospitals and other healthcare facilities appear to have become hot spots for the spread of infections. On Sunday, health officials announced that two staff members at a Northern California hospital had contracted COVID-19 from a patient. A day earlier, officials said that a health worker at a Seattle nursing
Public Health vs. Patient Privacy – How Coronavirus Is Putting HIPAA to the Test
In a recent blog post, colleagues in our Employment, Labor & Workforce Management practice addressed the legal framework pertaining to coronavirus (COVID-19) risks in the workplace. As the number of cases continues to the climb in the U.S., it is imperative that HIPAA covered entities and their business associates are aware of their privacy and security responsibilities in the midst of this public health emergency. EBG provides this guidance on how to effectively respond to the coronavirus public
LabCorp security lapse exposed thousands of medical documents
A security flaw in LabCorp’s website exposed thousands of medical documents, like test results containing sensitive health data. It’s the second incident in the past year after LabCorp said in June that 7.7 million patients had been affected by a credit card data breach of a third-party payments processor. That breach also hit several other laboratory testing companies, including Quest Diagnostics. This latest security lapse was caused by a vulnerability on a part of LabCorp’s
Safety in Simplicity: Helping Surgeons Work Without Fear of Infection
If you were to imagine a list of risky jobs, you might think of being a construction worker, a prison officer, an oil rig worker – anything that involves heights or challenging environments. Being a surgeon might not be top of the list. However, new research shows that in fact an overwhelming majority of surgeons have had a close encounter with a serious risk to their health and safety: a sharp, or needlestick injury. The
Accidental Needlesticks: The Silent Killer
We all know that doctors and nurses work long hours under trying conditions, particularly in hospital emergency rooms, to save lives and bring healing and comfort to the sick. What too many people do not know is that healthcare workers face a potential silent killer every day that is so common it is routinely overlooked and ignored: accidental needlesticks. Every year in the United States, more than 400 million blood draws are performed. Some of
