Stupidity and data security in Colorado

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Health agency demotes staffer after breach
Computer holding private data stolen
<http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_3806716,00.html>
By Bill Scanlon, Rocky Mountain News
May 26, 2005

A [Colorado] state health department worker who took medical records
home and left them overnight in a car - which was then stolen - has
been demoted.

Colorado's chief medical officer, Dr. Ned Calonge, said the employee
violated department rules by taking the laptop computer home for the
weekend.

It contained the records of 1,600 children involved in a federal
study of autism, a study that parents of those children were made
aware of only after the theft became public.  Some parents were
outraged over the security breach and the fact that they hadn't been
informed that their children were part of a research program.  "We
understand the parents' concerns and are taking this seriously,"
Calonge said.

<snip>

The  [Colorado] State Board of Health has decided that autism should
be a "reportable disease," putting it in the same category as
infectious diseases such as whooping cough, tuberculosis and the flu,
Calonge said.

<snip>

The department "may very well change our policy" and start informing
parents when their children are part of a program involving a
noninfectious disease, he said.  [Colorado] Health officials say
surveillance of infectious diseases is vital and can't wait for
parental consent. If a child gets whooping cough, for example, it's
important the child's school is notified and that steps are taken to
prevent an outbreak, they said.

scanlon@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx or 303-892-2897


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