Doctors Community Hospital was fined $30,000 for violating a law that says all Maryland hospitals must report serious medical errors. The penalty was set at $95,000, but Doctors Community Hospital promised to set aside $65,000 to develop a safety program for patients.

Some of the unreported errors include: A patient being attacked by another patient’s visitor, an 8-day delay on IV medication for a man known to have heart failure, and a case where an antibiotic was mistakenly given to a patient after a technician thought it was plain IV fluid.

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This should be a warning to patients and healthcare providers. Hospitals should be required to report serious medical errors because patients have the right to know what sort of medical care they will receive at any given hospital. Medical Business Associates, Inc. recommends that patients take charge of their own healthcare and well being by developing and maintaining a Personal Healthcare Portfolio.

Scammers have found yet another way to swindle unknowing consumers out of their money – healthcare discount cards.

2 to 4 million people have purchased what they thought to be medical discount cards, only to later learn they had been misled and ripped off. Consumers buying these cards are likely to not have insurance from their jobs and can’t afford it on their own. These cards seem to be a winning solution.

Make sure you’re not a victim.

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The Virginia Prescription Monitoring Program website was breached in late April by a hacker demanding $10 million in return for the confidential medical information of 8.3 million patients.

The hacker posted on the site’s homepage an expletive filled rant claiming that he was in possession of very confidential data. He continued by writing that if Virginia didn’t follow his ransom demands, he would sell all the information to the highest bidder.

Virginia didn’t succumb to the hacker’s demands; however, their website was not functional for a period of time.

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This alleged breach calls into question the effectiveness and security of EHRs (Electronic Health Records). While EHRs will save an estimated $11 billion annually, skeptics say that patient information will be more vulnerable than ever.

Medical Business Associates, Inc. can consult companies and hospitals on the right way to secure online medical records. Our experts are trained to find holes and teach you the proper way to fill them. Our pre and post EHR implementation audits have saved many organizations from experiencing the headaches associated with EHR implementation.