Do you remember Andrew Speaker?

Lawyer in 2007 TB scare sues CDC

Andrew Speaker was the man who was quarantined after the CDC believed that he had globe-trotted while infected with XDR-TB (extensively drug-resistant TB).  

He is now suing the government for what he alleges to be a breach of the HIPAA rules.

People far-and-wide were not at all happy with his choices to travel, and he went as far as to come into the US by crossing the US-Canada border.  

So a couple of questions arise:  

1. Was the CDC right in releasing his information to the public?  

2. Is the CDC a "covered entity" for HIPAA?  

A covered entity applies to "any entity that is:

- a health care provider that conducts certain transactions in electronic form (called here a “covered health care provider”),

- a health care clearinghouse, or

- a health plan"

An article from www.miamiherald.com

Pulitzer-winning photographer Patrick Farrell told of Haiti's horrors as no one else could This link will take you to an article that includes a series of photos by Patrick Farrell who was recently awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his moving photographs taken last year after the hurricanes in Haiti.

Swine Flu & Global Health

Swine Flu has hit the news over the past couple of days, and it's worthy of our attention.  With more than 2 million people crossing borders every day, it will not take long for Swine Flu to becomea worldwide epidemic.  

Thinking globally, acting locally.  That is the catch-phrase for Penn State University Global Programs.  The situation with Swine Flu illustrates this well.  Health care providers will need to keep their eyes attentive to the global activity of this virus, its impact, its case-fatality rate, while thinking and acting locally.   How will we act to protect our patients, family and friends here at home?  What measures, if any, can be taken to reduce the spread of the virus should it find its way to our towns and cities?

There is a need for health providers to keep informed of potential epidemics such as these.  Organizations like WHO and our own CDC are the current best sources of information and advice.