[PLUG] HIPAA, FAX, regulations, EPA

[Vedanta Teacher]

Pardon my interjecting..

HIPPA is all about backwards responsibility e.g. who has deep pockets.
We have people that leave HIPPA class info lying all over- But you can't
sue someone living on $10-11 per hour; they have nothing to take. So the
responsibility lies with the ownership (you should see how they handle
class 2 Narcs :0 ....)

Many years I did the maintenance for a Bank Data Center & check processing
center. All of the canceled checks were to be turned into pulp for
security.
Imagine our surprise when we received a call that hundreds if not thousands
of our checks were blowing around the streets (we sent them out by the
dumpster).
It was found that the Wearhauser   driver had not secured the lid to a
dumpster.

Many, Many years ago I did some of the initial building maintenance of HF 1
(they only had 2 buildings in Hillsboro back then) for Intel. Even at that
time
they trucked their florescent tubes to Massachusetts for 'Environmental
Disposal'.
They probably smashed them in a compactor as we would have but Intel
received a 'Certificate of Compliance' so no one could ever point a finger.

Good Grief Charlie Brown..

Blessings,
Paul W.




On Wed, Sep 6, 2017 at 11:26 PM, Keith Lofstrom <keithl at kl-ic.com> wrote:

> BTW, this aspect of the thread is drifting into plug-talk
> territory.  I keep it here because legislation will change
> how we are allowed to write and use do software.
>
>
> Keith wrote:
>
> KHL> Complications:  We've got a fax, which we use 3-5 times
> KHL> per month, for HIPAA-sensitive stuff.  No internet fax
> KHL> services are truly HIPAA compliant.
>
> On Wed, Sep 06, 2017 at 05:21:38PM -0500, Chuck Hast wrote:
>
> CH> I find that so funny since fax has been breakable ever since the
> druggers
> CH> used to send "orders" over hf using fax machines and very expensive SSB
> CH> radios, some using pilot carrier to lock both ends. HIPAA, banks and
> CH> insurance companies still use fax believing it is not hackable.
>
> Keith responds:
>
> Like all government mandates, HIPAA is not about safety
> or robustness, it is about adherence to a bureaucratic
> procedure, enriching lawyers and penalizing those who
> don't with huge fines.  The internet fax services
> purposely avoid HIPAA, but telcos are not allowed to.
>
> On a similar note ...
>
> My nephew arranges hazardous waste disposal for the
> National Institute of Health research centers in
> Bethesda, Maryland.  The worst part of his job is that
> the enabling legislation for the Environmental Protection
> Agency specified exactly which chemicals may be properly
> labelled and safely disposed of using EPA mandated
> procedures, and FORBIDS that any nonlisted chemical is
> labeled or handled in the same way.
>
> The chemicals listed in the legislation (decades ago)
> were chosen politically, with some awful toxins forced
> off the list by their well-connected manufacturers and
> users.  In the decades since the act was passed, many
> new chemicals are in play, and some of them are terrible.
> Researchers at NIH Bethesda sometimes use these toxins,
> and it is my nephew's task to figure out how to dispose of
> them, since the most responsible and safe disposal means
> are forbidden by law.  Sometimes, he is forced to put the
> crap down the drain and into the Chesapeake.  Sometimes,
> he works with the researchers to find less toxic ways to
> accomplish their goals.  He's starting to study for a law
> degree, with a long term goal of repairing the legislation.
> I hope his integrity survives.
>
> On topic moral:
>
> Don't write bad software, or politicians will force you
> to write even worse software.
>
> Keith
>
> --
> Keith Lofstrom          keithl at keithl.com
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