THE OTHER SHOE DROPS: Updates To Previous Posts
† You Can’t Hide Your Prying Eyes: In the wake of a patient privacy scandal involving 127 UCLA Medical Center employees nosing around the medical records of Britney Spears, Farrah Fawcett, CA First Lady Maria Shriver and other rich and famous people, the state Senate approved a bill creating new state Office of Health Information Integrity with power to levy fines of up to $250,000 for such infractions, reports the Los Angeles Times. Some Republican voted against the legislation, concerned that hospitals would find a way to pass the cost of the fines to patients.
† Warning: Dining Out Is More Fattening Than You Think: New York Times editorial board member Eduardo Porter writes about the sticker shock that NYers are experiencing now that calorie counts are posted alongside the prices at fast food joints:
I can almost hear the cogs whirring as my fellow customers add up the 540 calories of the banana walnut muffin and 400 more in the large Milky Way hot chocolate as they ponder how the wallop they are about to ingest will affect their lives. …
Anecdotal evidence suggests that New Yorkers are already switching to a healthier lifestyle. I read that Starbucks customers are gravitating toward the light line of drinks — where one can shave 260 calories by choosing the light Mint Mocha Chip Frappuccino. …
Virtuous choices, like choosing the fruit plate over the banana split, often make us feel entitled to splurge and attack the potato chips when we get home.
† “Person Of Interest” Steven Hatfill To Earn Lots Of Interest Income From Huge DOJ Payout: New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof did something very classy the other day: He apologized to falsely accused government scientist Dr. Steven J. Hatfill for referring to him as “Mr. Z” in a series of 2002 columns about the F.B.I.’s flawed anthrax investigation, which ultimately led to his being unmasked as the “person of interest” the agency was seeking. This, even though Hatfill’s defamation suit against Kristoff and his employer was thrown out of court. Kristof writes that “even if I don’t have a legal obligation, I do feel a moral one to express regret for any added distress from my columns.” Too bad Kristof’s decency is the exception when an innocent person is maliciously or mistakenly maligned in the media.
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