California Needlessly Reduces Privacy During COVID-19 Pandemic
This one isn’t even related to contact tracing:
On March 17, 2020, the federal government relaxed a number of telehealth-related regulatory requirements due to COVID-19. On April 3, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order N-43-20 (the Order), which relaxes various telehealth reporting requirements, penalties, and enforcements otherwise imposed under state laws, including those associated with unauthorized access and disclosure of personal information through telehealth mediums.
Lots of details at the link.
JonKnowsNothing • April 16, 2020 11:41 AM
My health care provider in California, has been using video and tele conferencing for a while but those previous systems required a special app and/or web camera for the video options and theoretically used protected communications.
Lots of other departments in this system did not have similar options and now, due to Lock Down or Lock In, have no real way to connect with patients in their clinics. Some were able to do phone check-ins from the office, but relied primarily on face-to-face evaluations. All these clinics are closed or have very limited access. Workers are tele-working making their patient contacts from their homes which of course have zero security for anything.
There are at least 3 areas where things go south:
It would all appear to be legit to relax the rules so providers can do patient follow ups, but the rules weren’t very good to start with.
The provider has informed me they are trying to DO SOMETHING ’cause they are getting a “hint” that lockdown-lockin is going to be more than 2 more weeks.
The primary beneficiary of the vulnerable data streams are LEOS and other illegal uses. Having access to your medical records “legally” without a warrant or oversight gives cover to the medical providers and the LEOs using it plus opportunities galore for hatchet-jobs as specialized by PACs, lobbyists, and reputation cleaners. It wasn’t that long ago the word “CANCER” was considered a taboo word.
In the meantime, if I want to contact my primary care provider, that’s the only “health safe” way. Going into a clinic for a test or pharmacy or face-to-face visit with my doctor is a thing of the past.