Is Health Information Security Dead?

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-The director of the Office for Civil Rights discusses the latest wave of data breaches of American citizens' health information.

iPhone Becoming Comprehensive Health and Mental Health Monitor

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-The iPhone is becoming a diagnostic tool drawing medical and mental health data from millions of potential customers.

“Regulating the Intersection of Health Care and Gun Control”

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-Attorney Charles Kels analyzes recent legislation requiring health care providers to disclose mental health information about patients to government.

“Why US Law on Guns and Mental Health Needs to Change”

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-New Scientist discusses the reasons that eight US professional health organizations "collectively took a stand against a law that on the face of it, seems like plain common sense."

Weighing in on Facebook’s New Suicide Prevention Strategy

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-Facebook has made it easier for users to report posts from people who seem to be in psychological distress, but not everyone likes the plan.

Health Privacy at Serious Risk on Web

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-Nine out of ten health-related web visits result in personal health information being leaked to third parties.

“This Microchip Will Deliver Drugs in Your Body by Remote Control”

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-Motherboard reports on an implantable chip that can hold hundreds of doses of drugs and be activated by remote control.

“Big Precision Medicine Plan Raises Patient Privacy Concerns”

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-Scientific American discusses a new $215-million initiative to create a massive database of the personal health information of one million people.

“When Medical Apps Do More Harm Than Good”

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-The industry of mobile apps that diagnose users' physical and mental ailments is already worth some $4 billion.

“The Rise of the Medical Scribe Industry”

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In JAMA, several Texas medical doctors and health information experts discuss the rapidly expanding number of "medical scribes" being hired by physicians to enter medical information into electronic health records (EHRs). Many doctors are finding electronic health records to be inefficient and unhelpful, they write, yet governments continue to mandate them.

“Risks in Using Social Media to Spot Signs of Mental Distress”

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In the New York Times, Natasha Singer discusses last year's launch by the Samaritans of an app that allowed people to track others' mental...

“The Big Business of Selling Prescription-Drug Records”

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Bloomberg Businessweek investigates the companies involved in buying and selling mass databases of people's prescription-drug histories, and the new ways in which that information is being used by skirting privacy protections.

Smartphone Mental Health Apps — Effective Treatment or Just Invasive and Misleading?

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Wired examines some of the latest self-surveillance mobile apps that people are using to help themselves manage their own behaviors. "Through the discreet and...

Doctors Frustrated With Electronic Medical Records

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"Disappointing" and "tragedy" are some of the descriptives everyday doctors are using to describe the expanding use of electronic medical records, according to The...

“Clients and Suicide: The Lawyer’s Dilemma”

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If their clients admit to having suicidal feelings or show evidence of serious psychological problems, how do lawyers' legal responsibilities to their clients change...

Samaritans’ Online Suicide Surveillance App an Ethical Minefield

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In Gigaom, privacy and security journalist David Meyer discusses the release of a new app from the UK Samaritans called "Radar." The app monitors...

Angry Caller to Help Line Tracked, Incarcerated in Psychiatric Hospital & Billed

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John Albers was completely surprised when police came to his home at midnight and insisted on taking him to a psychiatric hospital, where he...

Russian MP Proposes Psychiatric Exams for All Election Candidates

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"A nationalist lawmaker suggests making politicians disclose their psychiatric problems to the public and punish those who try to hide them by removing them...

Affordable Care Act Will Expand Mental Health Services Into More Areas of People’s Lives

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Since many more Americans now have mental health coverage as a result of the US Affordable Care Act, mental health services will soon begin...

“When psychiatrists are on Facebook, their patients can get a case of TMI”

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Washington Post columnist Steven Petrow gets a friend recommendation from Facebook, and it turns out to be his current psychotherapist, who isn't using any...

“The Computer Will See You Now”

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The Economist reports on "Ellie," a programmed, virtual psychologist designed by researchers at the Institute for Creative Technologies in Los Angeles, who has a...

More High-tech Surveillance for Better Mental Health?

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High-tech surveillance could help improve people's mental health cost-effectively, according to a commentary in The Guardian. "any existing capacities of tablets, smartphones and even...

The Proactive Search for Mental Illnesses in Children

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Part one of a two-part Mad In America investigation into the expansion of psychological screening and electronic surveillance of children and youth. A new government-funded mental health training program for British Columbia family physicians and school staff promotes screening for mental disorders in all children and youth. Critics say the program omits key scientific evidence, seems more like drug promotion than medical education, and downplays serious potential harms. Nevertheless, programs like it are rolling out across Canada and the US.

Protests Erupt Over Facebook’s Secret Psychology Experiment

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Facebook altered the news feeds of 689,003 users as part of a massive experiment in "emotional contagion," according to a study published in the...