"Redact before you act: Use caution when posting medical images online," Rachel Yaffe quoted in Fort Meyers Florida Weeklly

February 18, 2015

News

The other day I was on my daily scroll through the happenings of my family and friends on Facebook when I noticed a black and white ultrasound image of a baby. There is something about baby images, whether born or unborn, that just tend to grab your attention. The image belonged to my young friend Ashley Melchiorre. Ms. Melchiorre, 23, and her husband Shawn are expecting their first baby girl in June.

But when I clicked on the image, I noticed none of her personal information had been redacted. I started to wonder how many of my other friends on Facebook posted this kind of unedited medical data. Upon further scrolling, it’s obvious that many of my friends post ultrasound and medical pictures to share with family and friends. After pulling up several different friends’ ultrasound images I noticed all had personal information still affixed to them. One friend having twins regular updates and images.

Ashley Melchiorre, 23, posted a recent sonogram of her growing baby girl, due in June, on her Facebook page. Though each of these people posts to share with family and friends, I couldn’t help but wonder who else might be able to see the personal data printed on them.

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Over the past 24 months, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights has brought notable enforcement efforts against several non-profit covered entities and business associates, resulting in instances of six and seven-figure penalties against providers across the county for incidents involving breaches of protected health information.

A new amendment to New York state law, which would have required all healthcare providers to obtain separate consents from patients for treatment and payment is on hold until further guidance is released, according to the New York Department of Health.

"Redact before you act: Use caution when posting medical images online," Rachel Yaffe quoted in Fort Meyers Florida Weeklly

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