You may as well go 'head and give the government all your most confidential health records, because they're going to get them anyway, and they won't be stopped by you hiding behind any little ruses like "Not being an American citizen," or "Living in Canada," either.
I'm not sure whether the Canadian government gave it up for dashingly goateed Uncle Sam like a roofie'd lumberjack in a lonely logging camp or whether the NSA figured out that the master password for the OHIP was still set as "PASSWORD", but there you go.
Whole battalions of radical Islamic terrorists might be coming across the southern border hidden inside the bales of marijuana, but we're stopping that invasion of depressed Canadian paraplegics cold, right in its Little Rascal-ridin' tracks.
(H/T via email.)
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13 comments:
I love the bit from the Canadian .gov:
U.S. authorities “do not have access to medical or other health records for Ontarians travelling to the U.S.,’’ said health ministry spokeswoman Joanne Woodward Fraser, adding the ministry could not provide any additional information.
Translation: "They can't have that information. We say so. Now shut up and stop asking questions we don't want to deal with."
Do any of you actually believe that "free" health care actually comes without cost?
This administration seemd hellbent on destroying our reputation as a reliable place to do business.
Absent a warrant, Looks to me like they violated her rights under HIPPA.
Ulises from CA
I'm guessing this is somehow related to the "secure flight" program the blue hands group is using to "pre-screen" passengers for security at airports.
@ Ulises from CA:
1- It is HIPAA, not HIPPA
2- HIPAA only applies to US health care providers releasing protected health information (PHI) to unauthorized parties. Canadian health care providers would not be regulated by HIPAA
3- It does not restrict the release of PHI to authorized parties, which (unsurprisingly) includes government officials
Uh, don't forget the fedgov already has hacked EVERY electronic record there is. They can tie your bank, credit card, amazon buy list, ebay, medical records and everything else. IF you are lucky enough to retain a doctor or have to go to one, make sure and put DENY on any HIPPA from and NOT ALLOW "sharing" of it with ANY ELECTRONIC DATABASE!
This gem from the article...how wonderfully ironic: Jenny Burke said that due to privacy laws, “the department is prohibited from discussing specific cases.’’
So, privacy laws prevent CBP from talking about it in public, but not from accessing and using health records against private citizens. That is delightfully ironic...
I keep saying I think it's only a matter of time before people stop seeking mental health care, because every time you go to the head-doc your rights are compromised. Pretty soon, if there is just a hint you might be "unhinged" you won't have any rights at all.
-Rob
Health care in Canada is provincial not federal so this is an Ontario issue .
One of two things happened .
NSA hacked the OHIP records because they were having a slow day and a border guard let the cat out of the bag in his attempt to limit US suicide numbers .
Do you think that the NSA shares the information that it gets from places it shouldn't be with a baggage checker at the airport?
The woman in question had been the subject of a 911 call . Ambulance and police dispatched by the same system . The police did not respond to her call .
Canadian and US law enforcement share records .
Have for years everyone knows it .
So if the Toronto Police are gathering information from the health care side of 911 the guard had the information from a legitimate source .
The question is why would the police be collecting that information .
What he was reported to have sounded like a police report.
I'm not hearing a lot indignation here they seem to want this to go away .
Or it could just be an elaborate plot to get Rob Ford off the news.
Glenn
I think that the password was "TRUDEAU"
Which brings to mind an old (1980s vintage) Canadian political joke. One evening Pierre Trudeau gets a call from Margret. He can hear laughter and music in the background.
"Guess where I am, Pierre."
"I couldn't care less, Maggie."
"I'm at a party with Ted Kennedy."
[long pause]
"Ask him to drive you home."
Alas, this was more fun when both of the subjects here were mere politicians, i.e. before they were apotheosized into Statesmen.
Tam, your government spies on friendly heads-of-state and the Canadian government as a matter of routine.* Do you think for one second they would think 'no that's wrong, we shouldn't snoop into patient records in another country'.
I'm an Ontario resident and my doctor can pull up my MRI results or the records of my surgery in another city from her workstation by typing in an 8 character password. The security protocols in the system are not intended to keep out the world's second best government hackers. Just wait until the government runs the health system in the USA.
Go to the doctor because you're depressed and before you get home, the BATF will have broken down your door, shot your dog(s) because they felt threatened, and taken all your firearms 'for the public good'.
Al_in_Ottawa
*If they're not spying on the Canadian Government why are they still in the old embassy which is directly across from the House of Commons and in line of sight to Langevin Block where the Prime Minister and Cabinet have their offices?
So, are we actively trying to ensure that people with mental health problems won't seek help for fear of future consequences doled out by the fedgov?
Because that really looks like the goal here.way to further stigmatize mental health issues and give yet one more reason for those suffering to avoid asking for help.
If the lady's illness is one of the statutory grounds for exclusion, I don't see the issue. The border agents were just doing the job Congress told them to do. As for knowing her medical history, I say "Yay!". We should know everything about any foreign national who tries to cross our borders. Especially any diseases they have.
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