Florida health officials are tightening security on the state’s prescription drug database after a recent leak exposed patients’ personal data. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, the database leaked the personal information of thousands of patients—including dosage amounts, birthdays, and addresses—to county prosecutors investigating a criminal case. Reportedly, some of the patients and details were not relevant to the criminal case.
To address the problem, Florida health officials are looking at limiting the number of state employees allowed to use the database and creating a notification system when a user requests information. They are also seeking more clearly displayed penalties for improper leaking of information. The prescription monitoring database was instituted to reduce the prescription drug abuse and “pill mills” rampant in the state.
Source: Tampa Tribune – Tighter security coming for prescription database
