Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
How Did A Cable TV Reporter Get NFL Player's Medical Records?
When New York Giants pass rusher Jason Pierre-Paul injured his hand during a fireworks mishap over the Fourth of July weekend in South Florida, the star NFL player went to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. Details of his stay at Miami-Dade鈥檚 public hospital system were supposed to remain confidential under federal law, but now the world knows that Pierre-Paul, 26, had his right index finger amputated 鈥 courtesy of a cable TV network reporter who posted a picture of the NFL player鈥檚 medical chart on Twitter. On Thursday, the hospital system鈥檚 CEO announced an internal investigation into the leaked records. ... According to an agency database tracking breaches of protected health information affecting more than 500 individuals per instance, Jackson Health has reported three incidents since 2011 affecting 3,599 people. (Chang, 7/9)
Federal and state authorities who enforce the protection of private medical information are watching the case of Jason Pierre-Paul, the National Football League star whose medical records were publicized Wednesday. 鈥淲e are aware of the incident,鈥 said a spokeswoman for the Health and Human Services鈥 Office for Civil Rights. She said the office could open a case based on media reports, and has done so in the past. She declined to comment further, saying the office does not release information on 鈥渃urrent or potential investigations.鈥 (Woo and Radnofsky, 7/9)