A Tough Lesson On Medical Privacy Pakistani transcriber threatens UCSF over back pay

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 10/22/03 | David Lazarus

[Samizdat]

Your patient records are out in the open... so you better track that person and make him pay my dues."

A woman in Pakistan doing cut-rate clerical work for UCSF Medical Center threatened to post patients' confidential files on the Internet unless she was paid more money.To show she was serious, the woman sent UCSF an e-mail earlier this month with actual patients' records attached.

[Samizdat]

This is just the beginning.

[Dog Gone]

I really like the fact that companies are shifting payroll and other HR duties to India and Pakistan. Everything needed to steal identities and open credit card accounts in Europe is in the hands of people making next to nothing.

[DLfromthedesert]

I am so upset about this stupid HIPAA. I'm not allowed to visit former patients when their parents have asked me to; but some yahoo in the Far East can print the records on the Internet.

I'll have to find out the number to report violations. They made a big deal out of privacy in my hospital; this is beyond ludicrous.

[texastoo]

The HIPAA law is also the reason the Schindler family can't find Terry.

However, all the globalist deserve this. I hope the missing records are from someone important or newsworthy.

[Ukiapah Heep]

When the "Muslum street", which is "prevalent" in Pakistan gets their hands on information such as this, no payoff or pleading will stop them from using it for terrorism.

Those that signed this transcriber's outsourcing contract should be tried for treason.

[Moonmad27]

Bump to share at work. I work in the medical field, and as long as a transcription service sends work to India, that company's not getting my business. I have questions about the work quality and security of Indian companies, and this just adds to my bad opinion.

[Moonmad27]

Let me add, Indian companies are the only ones I have had approach me to do transcription, but I would have similar thoughts about those of other countries - Pakistan, Phillipines, etc.

[Capt. Tom]

Maybe now we can get to see Bill Clinton's medical records. -Tom

[not_apathetic_anymore]

Looks like voice recognition software is about to get a big boost:)

("voice recognition" is the wrong word...I mean the software that types what you dictate. I hear there is a significant learning curve but after that it's pretty slick. Doctors dictating their own charts without having to farm out dictation might help nip this in the bud.)

[FreedomPoster]

Index bump. Forward this to your doctor (medical privacy) and your accountant and CEO (financial privacy).

[proxy_user]

Usually there is a clause in these contracts making the primary contractor liable. In this case, Transcription Stat should be legally liable for the actions of its subcontractors. Since TS is a US company, they can be sued in the US.

[Steel and Fire and Stone]

"I spoke with her," Newburn said. "She was very upset but said she wouldn't have really released the files. So I said she had to take back the threat."

Newburn agreed to pay a portion of the money Baloch claimed she was owed - about $500 - and Baloch said she would tell UCSF that its files were safe.

Whew!! I feel so much better now. Even though copies of patients records are now floating around outside of UCSF custody, no more mischief like this will occurs because the (1st??) perp was paid off.

LOLL>>HAHAHAHA>>RLOLLL...

It's nice to know that there's still trust in this world, gullible trust, but trust nonetheless.

Now, I happen to have the confidential records of millions of Californians, including both civil and criminal information, available to me within a few key strokes, by virture of my IT position with a quasi-local-governmental entity. They tried to outsource my function overseas this year, and I expect that it will happen with a couple of years, perhaps sooner. There are already foreign contractors (H1B/L1 VISA) working along side me. Nice guys, smart, hard working, and wholly trustworthy...um, I think. I've held federal security clearances to Immediate Top Secret, equivalent local governmental clearances, but that's doesn't matter if U.S. firms can save a few $$Thousand. I'm just an overpaid, fat, dumb and way too happy American, who needs to be taught my true value in life, by some (truly!) nice folks from India and other foreign countries.

They can have the job. I'm only making about half of what I did as far back as 1996, and my expenses have at least doubled in most areas since then. Heck with it; I'm starting a new career, and my kids WILL NOT waste my money and their time studying a portable, exportable, technical discipline in college.

This entire situation was encouraged and caused by corrupt politicians, most of them Democrats, who have opened the flood gates to indentured servitude. All a poor guy from India has to do to gain the freedom of citizenship in the US is agree to take my job, and the jobs of others like me, for $.25 on the dollar, live in impoverished conditions for 5 years, and agree not to question their employer about little things like working conditions, salary, overtime, or the lack of health insurance, sick leave, and other labor costs. No wonder American's can't hold a technical job in the USA. Our government has made employment way too expensive, and low-cost alternative way to easy to obtain. And they get great political donations from all the US body shops who perpetrate this slavery, except now, their exporting the jobs to the slaves back home (i.e. India, Ireland, etc.). Same great employer advantages, with less risk and overhead than hiring Americans. Thank you, my dear Senators, Congressmen, and President(s) who have made this all possible. Heck, no one in the USA wanted to do those ugly, nasty, "low paying" technical jobs anyhow. Maybe we can all study for careers in government, the job that can never be outsourced!

SFS

[mo]

This brings up a exceedingly important issue...we have the world's most personally comprehensive data base on one another in the US-mostly due to how we tax one another and insure one another. As we "outsource" the data base maintainence and repair to countries and people who are not invested personally in its integrity we are creating terrible opportunities for expliotation in the new digital world.

[SamiGirl]

I am very concerned about this. This can and will become very dangerous for our national security. And it baffles me that the politicians don't seem to recognize the danger (or they don't want to). I see the latest increase in ID theft as direct result of outsourcing.

Once records leave the US, there are no protections set in place. None. The US privacy and security laws do not apply to other countries. So, all of our private information is open to anyone in India, Pakistan, Russia, etc. This includes not only medical records, but also bank accounts, Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, salary information, and the list goes on…

I don’t know how to fight this. Most people I talk to don’t seem to be alarmed or even care.

[sarcasm]

ping

[dogbyte12]

Free Trade Bump

[Samizdat]

Well its not there yet. I have the latest and greatest version of DNS Medical version. Its still like trying to animate a dead body. It won't get any better unless you don't have to tell it every miniscule move to make and when you do correct it, it doesn't understand.

[Samizdat]

Well keep me in mind when looking to outsource your medical transcription. I am strictly US only, no outsourcing offshore. Its against my principles in the first place and in the second place it is obviously very risky.