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Southwest Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowships
In Memoriam

News

Last 50 News Postings

 (Click on title to be directed to posting, most recent listed first)

Former US Surgeon General Criticizing $5,000 Emergency Room Bill
Nurses Launch Billboard Campaign Against Renewal of Desert Regional
   Medical Center Lease
$1 Billion Donation Eliminates Tuition at Albert Einstein Medical School
Kern County Hospital Authority Accused of Overpaying for Executive
   Services
SWJPCCS Associate Editor has Essay on Reining in Air Pollution Published
   in NY Times
Amazon Launches New Messaged-Based Virtual Healthcare Service
Hospitals Say They Lose Money on Medicare Patients but Make Millions
Trust in Science Now Deeply Polarized
SWJPCC Associate Editor Featured in Albuquerque Journal
Poisoning by Hand Sanitizers
Healthcare Layoffs During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Practice Fusion Admits to Opioid Kickback Scheme
Arizona Medical Schools Offer Free Tuition for Primary Care Commitment
Determining if Drug Price Increases are Justified
Court Overturns CMS' Site-Neutral Payment Policy
Pulmonary Disease Linked to Vaping
CEO Compensation-One Reason Healthcare Costs So Much
Doctor or Money Shortage in California?
FDA Commissioner Gottlieb Resigns
Physicians Generate an Average $2.4 Million a Year Per Hospital
Drug Prices Continue to Rise
New Center for Physician Rights
CMS Decreases Clinic Visit Payments to Hospital-Employed Physicians
   and Expands Decreases in Drug Payments 340B Cuts
Big Pharma Gives Millions to Congress
Gilbert Hospital and Florence Hospital at Anthem Closed
CMS’ Star Ratings Miscalculated
VA Announces Aggressive New Approach to Produce Rapid Improvements
   in VA Medical Centers
Healthcare Payments Under the Budget Deal: Mostly Good News
   for Physicians
Hospitals Plan to Start Their Own Generic Drug Company
Flu Season and Trehalose
MedPAC Votes to Scrap MIPS
CMS Announces New Payment Model
Varenicline (Chantix®) Associated with Increased Cardiovascular Events
Tax Cuts Could Threaten Physicians
Trump Nominates Former Pharmaceutical Executive as HHS Secretary
Arizona Averages Over 25 Opioid Overdoses Per Day
Maryvale Hospital to Close
California Enacts Drug Pricing Transparency Bill
Senate Health Bill Lacks 50 Votes Needed to Proceed
Medi-Cal Blamed for Poor Care in Lawsuit
Senate Republican Leadership Releases Revised ACA Repeal and Replace Bill
Mortality Rate Will Likely Increase Under Senate Healthcare Bill
University of Arizona-Phoenix Receives Full Accreditation
Limited Choice of Obamacare Insurers in Some Parts of the Southwest
Gottlieb, the FDA and Dumbing Down Medicine
Salary Surveys Report Declines in Pulmonologist, Allergist and Nurse 
   Incomes
CDC Releases Ventilator-Associated Events Criteria
Medicare Bundled Payment Initiative Did Not Reduce COPD Readmissions
Younger Smokers Continue to Smoke as Adults: Implications for Raising the
   Smoking Age to 21
Most Drug Overdose Deaths from Nonprescription Opioids

 

 

For complete news listings click here.

 

The Southwest Journal of Pulmonary, Critical Care & Sleep periodically publishes news articles relevant to  pulmonary, critical care or sleep medicine which are not covered by major medical journals.

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Entries in HIPPA (1)

Saturday
Aug062016

Banner Hacked-3.7 Million at Risk

A large-scale computer cyberattack at Banner Health compromised the records of up to 3.7 million patients, health-insurance-plan members, food and drink customers, and doctors according to the an Arizona Republic article by Ken Alltucker (1). Banner Health discovered unusual activity on its computer servers in late June and uncovered evidence of two attacks, with hackers accessing both patient records and payment-card records of food and beverage customers. The Phoenix-based health-care provider said it will mail letters to those affected notifying them about details of the cyberattack and steps they can take to protect themselves. Banner employees, many of whom are patients and covered by Banner Health insurance plans, also are believed to be victims of the attack.

The Banner Health attack is the largest among 32 known data breaches involving Arizona-based health and medical providers since 2010 according to an U.S. Department of Health and Human Service list. The breach exceeds all other breaches in Arizona combined by over 1,000,000 affected individuals. Banner also has the dubious distinction of the previous high in Arizona when records of 55,207 were compromised in 2014 (2).

Banner Health officials said they thus far have not received reports of hackers misusing the information, but the health-care provider will offer a free one-year membership in credit-monitoring services to patients, health-plan members and others affected by the cyberattack. The hackers apparently accessed Banner computer systems that process payment-card data at food and beverage outlets at some Banner Health locations. Potential victims can view a list of affected Banner locations in Arizona, Alaska, Colorado and Wyoming at http://bannersupports.com/customers/affected-locations/. On July 13, Banner Health discovered that hackers also may have accessed patient and health-insurance records, which may have included information about doctors and health-care providers. Those records may have included names, birth dates, addresses, doctors' names, dates of service, claims information, health-insurance information and Social Security numbers.

Bob Gregg, chief executive of Portland, Ore.-based ID Experts. said health-care providers are increasingly facing attacks from criminal organizations that resell the information for profit. According to Gregg. a record containing a name, address and Social Security number sells for $1 to $3 on the black market but detailed medical records with unique patient identifying numbers can fetch up to $100 per record.

Banner Health has established a website that details information about the data breach at http://bannersupports.com. Patients or other customers who have questions or concerns about the cyberattack can call 1-855-223-4412.

References

  1. Ken Alltucker. Banner Health cyberattack breaches up to 3.7 million records. Arizona Republic. August 3, 2016. Available at: http://www.azcentral.com/story/money/business/health/2016/08/03/banner-health-cyberattack-breaches-up-3-7-million-records/88035474/ (accessed 8/6/16).
  2. Robbins RA. Banner prints social security numbers. Southwest J Pulm Crit Care. 2014;8(2):140-1. [CrossRef]

Cite as: Robbins RA. Banner hacked-3.7 million at risk. Southwest J Pulm Crit Care. 2016;13(2):80-1. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13175/swjpcc075-16 PDF