This is an abolutely aggregious lack of confidentiality for people with AIDS,coming out just a week or so after discussion that everyone should be HIV tested.I want this investigated to find out if this was done maliciously. If these names go to the Christian Reich from any of the 800 people that received the list,I'd have a class action law suit in a heart beat.



http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/sou...-home-headlines



Secret list of Palm Beach County AIDS patients sent to 800 people

By Tal Abbady
Staff Writer
Posted February 21 2005


After its top statistician inadvertently released the names of thousands of Palm Beach County residents with AIDS or HIV in an internal e-mail, the county health department is looking at ways to better control its own access to confidential patient information.

At 8 a.m. Thursday, John W. "Jack" Nolan, a statistician who specializes in HIV/AIDS data and has worked for the county health department for nearly 30 years, accidentally attached a confidential list of county residents with AIDS or HIV to a routine e-mail to 800 county health employees, health officials said Sunday. The e-mail was directed to doctors, nurses and other county health employees, according to health department spokesman Tim O'Connor. It was a monthly statistical update on AIDS and HIV cases in the county and contained several attachments, O'Connor said.



There are 4,500 residents with AIDS and 2,000 HIV-positive residents in the county. Nolan's attachment may have contained all or a portion of the 6,500 names, O'Connor said. He could not confirm whether addresses were also included in the attachment.

Several minutes after sending the e-mail Thursday

morning, Nolan realized he had accidentally attached the confidential list and contacted the department's technology officials. Within an hour, the system was shut down and "scrubbed," or purged of all e-mail attachments.

Ten employees opened the attachment before it was purged, and the department's security officials contacted all of them, O'Connor said.

The county health department, led by Dr. Jean Malecki, has asked the state health department's inspector general to assist in an internal investigation that will yield stricter protocols governing the handling of confidential information. Nolan, the only county health employee who could access the computerized list, will form part of the effort. He has been reassigned to report directly to Malecki.

"I take these issues extremely seriously. This is in the process of being thoroughly investigated by myself and by the inspector general," Malecki said Sunday.

This is awful. I bet it was on purpose too (and I bet they will be removed from the voting books too for that matter)Thanks Jeb!

Shame on those who apply such a cheap, unChritian act. May they burn in hell! The AIDs victims are suffering and those who create more sufferings are not followers of Christ, but disciples of Satan.

I'm hoping some of those names of people living with AIDS, is richer than Geffen, Gates and Spielburg combined,and has God's own phone number. They will make mincemeat out of Gov. Bush and his officials. If people with AIDS in Florida get any retaliation, we will hire hackers to post the names of every STD victim, every abortion, every penile implant, every alcoholic and drug rehab patient in Florida.


Jeb in case you think records are safe from hackers,imagine all the nurse staff, records staff that might be positive, queer, or both. You best make sure that info gets leaked to no one.

This is shocking! Where was this man's brain?

Is it me, or have I read many bizarre incidents in the news recently that happen in Florida or Texas?

Florida Health Dept,

Not only will EVERY AIDS activist organization beat you bloody, the CDC,the AMA, the ACLU, and EVERY disability organization will join in the battle.

It isn't you, KT. This is the kind of thing that has happened under Jeb's administration far too often. And it cannot be just coincidence that similar "bizarre" things happen in Texas.